Chained
by xlilystarkx
Summary: College AU. Tony and Loki, both starting their second year at the elite S.H.I.E.L.D College. They're the furthest thing from friends, but will everything change when Clint handcuffs together for a week? Expect Angst and Fluff. And smut.
1. Chapter 1

Odin stormed up the stairs to Loki's room.

"Get back downstairs right now! Your mother's in tears, no thanks to your cheek,"

Loki turned around to face him. "I believe it had more to do with your rudeness than my cheek." He replied in a cool and even tone. Odin went bright red.

"Now you listen to me, boy, I took you in when you were a child, out of the goodness of my heart, and this is how you repay me? By rebelling against me and being an ungrateful brat?" Odin fumed. Loki snorted.

"Come on, Odin, play another record. Don't bullshit me with that "goodness of my heart" stuff,"

"Watch your language boy!" Odin snarled, and slapped Loki across the face. Loki glared at him, his green orbs gleaming with anger.

"You are not my Father, Odin. I know the real reason you took me in, not what you told the media,"

Odin was furious. "You are a worthless, good for nothing little shit. It would be better for everyone if you were dead. We don't want you here, we never did. Pack your bags; we're leaving in half an hour. I want scum like you out of my house,"

Loki stiffened. "Mother wouldn't let you kick me out of the house before our farewell party,"

Odin smirked. "Your Mother doesn't know a lot of things. But she knows, she always knew, how worthless you are. Now pack!" He marched off, leaving Loki alone in his room.

He stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, before leaning over the basin and crying. No one came to make sure he was okay; he'd mastered the art of crying silently. And lying. He didn't let on, but every word that Odin said broke his heart. All he ever wanted was his approval. But he wasn't good enough. He would never be good enough. That's why he agreed to join the new S.H.I.E.L.D College, training intelligent young adults to become spies. But it wasn't going to be enough. Not this time. Not even the thought of getting out of the hellhole he used to call home was. He opened up the cabinet and pulled out his smallest razor. He took the cap off and took a deep breath. He pressed the razor against his left wrist, below the old scars. It felt good. Like he was punishing himself for being everything Odin called him. As if all his sins would come out in his blood. Using this razor, he maneuvered it around his wrist so that when it scarred, it would leave one, tiny, word marked on the skin.

Worthless.

He ran his wrist under cold water until the blood had stopped leaking out of his skin and pulled his sleeves down over it and the older scars. He ran back to his room and packed his suitcases Frigga had bought him especially for college. He dragged his bags into the car and waited

"Promise me you'll bother in class this year, Tony?" Maria looked into her son's warm brown eyes.

"Yes, mum," Tony rolled his eyes.

"Remember to pack everything. Your father and I are just going down to the store to grab some food for the drive. Remember your running gear!"

"Mum!" Although Tony was 18, his mum babied him. This didn't make him any less mature though. At only 18, he was accepted into the advanced physics, chemistry and weapons development classes at the new S.H.I.E.L.D College in New York. He was a genius, and he knew it. Although he acted like he didn't care about school, he was actually really excited about starting college. The only problem was, his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Pepper, did not get in. She was going to NYU though, so she wouldn't be too far away, plus she was allowed to come over on weekends, and she was coming over to S.H.I.E.L.D College that night to visit. Tony watched as his parents pulled out of the drive and then sighed as he looked at all the things he still had to cram into his suitcase.

Tony was putting the last few things into his suitcase when he heard the phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Is this Tony Stark?" It was a man, who sounded worried.

"Yes, why?"

"I'm Doctor Lane, from the hospital,"

"What's wrong?" He asked anxiously.

"It's your parents,"

No. Not Maria.

"I'm sorry, Tony, They were in a crash. The paramedics did everything they could, but it was too late. "We need you at the hospital to fill in some paperwork, legal guardianship, that sort of thing…" Tony couldn't make sense of the words.

"Mr. Stark… are you there?" He hung up and stared at the phone, shocked. It couldn't be. Not now, they were both too young. Tony wasn't too upset about his dad, he hardly knew him. But his mother, the only person that ever loved him, was dead. Maria, the kindest, most loving and caring person he knew was gone. Forever.


	2. Chapter 2

A year later

"Loki! Hurry up!" Loki sighed and closed his suitcase. Today was the day he finally went back to college. Thor and him were both attendees of S.H.I.E.L.D College. He dragged his suitcases to Thor's new car. Their mother was tearful, and hugged them so tight that they could barely breathe. Loki glared at his father and hopped into the car

"Bye mum, Odin." Called out Loki.

"Goodbye Mother, goodbye Father!" Thor smiled at them.

And they were on their way. Thor grinned at Loki. He was the oldest but they weren't really brothers. Loki was adopted at the age of eight, from England, which explained his faint accent. He loved his mother, Frigga, but his dad and him had a difficult relationship, but it was slowly improving. Thor turned on the stereo, much to Loki's disappointment. He had terrible taste. Loki turned on his iPod and closed his eyes, excited to be going back. His best friend, Natasha, a trained black belt in Karate, was already there, along with her close friend, Clint. Much to Loki's distaste, Tony Stark was there too. Recently orphaned, he was the most narcissistic man in the world. Well, to Loki. Loki didn't like him, he didn't like Loki. And that was fine. Loki just hoped he wasn't rooming with him.

"Loki!" Thor tapped Loki, he opened his eyes, and finally, they were there. Loki grabbed his stuff and walked in. They got their keys and walked to their rooms. Loki looked at the names on his door, and found out he would be rooming with Clint. _Thank bloody God_, Loki thought. Thor was with Steve Rogers, a good friend of his, and they were directly opposite Loki and Clint. Loki looked at the surrounding rooms. Next to him were Natasha and Maria Hill. Nat would be pleased, her and Maria were close friends. Next to Thor's room were Bruce Banner and Anthony Stark. Next to Thor's room on the right were Libby, Steve's younger sister, and Jane. Loki had entered his room and was setting up, when someone jumped on him. Nat.

"You know, a hello would be fine." Loki grumbled.

"But this is much more fun." The red haired Russian smiled.

"To you, maybe." Loki said, as he rubbed his back.

"Oh please, you've built up muscle these holidays." She poked his arms that no longer yielded to her jabs.

"What can I say? You needed some competition." He smirked.

"In your dreams, silver tongue." Natasha retorted.

Loki laughed. He'd missed her. She rolled off him and sat on the floor.

"How's things with the family?" She asked.

"Hell, as usual." Loki's eyes narrowed as he replied.

"Tell me about it…" Natasha said, she didn't get on with her family either.

They started talking about movies and books they'd read and their degrees (Psychology for Loki, defence/fighting for Natasha) when Clint walked in.

"Hey, Tasha, Loki." She scowled, she hated being called Tasha.

"Barton."

"Hey, Clint." Loki said lazily.

"The group's heading out for pizza, you joining us?"

Nat and Loki looked at each other. Loki nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Now?" Loki asked.

"Yup. I'm grabbing my wallet and keys and then heading over to Thor's room." Clint said, walking off. He turned back. "Oh and Natasha?"

"Yeah?" She replied.

Clint smirked at Loki. "Remember our plan."

Natasha laughed. "Oh I will."

Loki looked at her quizzically. "What plan?"

Natasha waved him off. "Nothing you need to worry about. Come on, let's go."

They stood up and grabbed Loki's phone and some cash and left to Thor's room.

"Brother! So glad you could join us. Natasha, lovely to see you." Natasha hugged him, it was an interesting sight, someone as massive as Thor, hugging someone as petite as Natasha. Not that her size should be overlooked. Natasha kicked ass in defence training.

Loki's eyes scanned the room, wondering who else was here. Thor, Nat, Clint, Maria, Pepper, who must be visiting Tony, Steve, Peggy, Bruce, Thor's girlfriend Jane and, much to Loki's dismay, Tony. He glared at Loki. Loki glared back and started talking to Peggy, she took psychology with him. The group ended up ordering pizza in and talking to each other. A couple of drinks were given out and soon some people were drunk. Namely Tony, Pepper, Clint and Thor.

Tony was grabbing a slice of pepperoni pizza when he saw Loki enter. Only he barely recognized him. The quiet, scowling man had now turned into a social butterfly. He also had picked up a load of muscle from working out in the holiday. He looked good, really good. His tight T-shirt showed off his carved physique well. Not that Tony was looking. Because yeah, Tony might be bisexual, but Loki? He hated Loki, just for, well, being Loki. And not liking him. Everyone liked Tony, except Loki. So instead of focusing on having a good time and just ignoring Loki, like a normal person would do, Tony did the most rational thing he could. Get drunk, make out with Pepper, and possibly argue with Loki.

"Well look who it is." Loki turned around to see a drunken Tony talking to him.

"What do you want, Stark?" Loki said with a sigh. His conversations with Tony never ended well.

"To talk to you." He slurred.

"What could possibly be so interesting about me that you want to talk about?" Loki asked rhetorically.

"School shit." Tony replied

"Like?" Loki asked.

"Your pointless subject psychology." Tony stated, as if it was obvious. Loki narrowed his eyes. He'd had enough of people disregarding his subject choices. He got enough scorn at home; he didn't need it at school as well.

"Listen Stark, if you're here to lecture me about my subjects and the importance of science then I will leave." Loki snapped.

"Never!" He grinned. "But seeing as you mentioned it, this year we're learning about-" Tony started to go off on a rant.

"I don't actually care, Stark." Loki interrupted.

"And I don't actually care about psychology. In fact, does anyone?" Tony asked, trying to get at Loki.

Loki glared." A lot of people do. It's good to know in the field."

"As if you'd be in the field."

"As if you'd be able to do anything except kill people. You're not really known for your fighting skills are you? And you don't even take defence anymore. You like to just sit and watch from behind the scenes, while everyone else risks their neck." Loki ranted.

"Excuse you? Do you even know what we do in Weapons Development?" Tony asked, pissed.

"Well, let's think, develop weapons maybe?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"Well, look who has a brain." Tony said.

"Rather, look who has a brain that they use for the greater good." Loki corrected.

"Greater good? I create the weapons, you use them. Though how a psychologist uses my weapons I have no idea." Tony retorted.

"We aren't a separate race of people, Stark." Loki said, his patience running out.

"You're all as crazy as your patients." Tony responded.

"You know nothing about psychology, so stop acting as if you do!" Loki snarled, his temper rising.

"It can't be any harder than physics." Tony claimed. Loki snorted.

"Oh really? What's schizophrenia, Stark?"

"A psychological disorder." Tony replied, proud of his answer.

"Define it." Tony looked confused. Loki laughed. It was rare that anyone saw Tony like this.

"Exactly." Loki said, pleased.

"Well, you wouldn't last long in physics." Tony challenged.

"I don't want to. I'd rather learn about why people are doing what they're doing, than blowing up them up with one of your _weapons_."

"I don't blow people up!" Tony protested.

"Tell that to their grieving families." They were so caught up in arguing, that they hadn't noticed that everyone had gone silent and was watching them.

""Listen, Loki-" Tony paused as Clint slammed the door coming back in.

"Alright, you two. Term hasn't even started, and you're already bickering like six year olds. Nat and I came up with a plan for you two to bond."

"I swear, Clint, even you lock us in a room together until we're best friends, I will personally go to the weapons department and shoot you." Loki said, his voice low.

"Now who's the aggressive one?" Tony grinned.

"Shut up." Loki snapped.

"That's rude." Tony feigned hurt.

"So are you." They were so intent on renewing their argument, that they didn't notice Clint take the handcuffs from behind his back and slip them onto Loki's left wrist, and Tony's right one, until they clicked shut.

"Clint! Take them off now!"

"Nah uh. Not until you two start to get along."

"Very funny, Barton. Take them off." Tony asked, impatient.

Natasha chimed in. "May I ask why you have a spare pair of handcuffs floating around?" Everyone but Tony and Loki laughed, they were too busy trying to get the key off Clint.

"Good question, Tasha. I can show you later if you want." Clint winked. Natasha looked ready to murder him. Everyone laughed again.

"I nicked these puppies from a training course last year. Good luck getting them off, they aren't standard issue. I don't know what they're made of, but they're bloody strong. You can all thank me later." Clint bowed and turned to Natasha" Oh, and Tasha? My offers still stands if you want to-" Natasha punched him in the stomach.

Tony muttered something under his breath.

"What'd you say?" Loki asked Tony.

"You wouldn't know even if I told you. Interesting material. Reasonably extendable, thank god." He stretched them experimentally. "We can get changed in different rooms." Loki gave a relieved sigh.

"Well let's go then." Loki said, pulling Tony along with him.

"Where?" Tony was confused; he had been planning on staying at the party for as long as possible.

"My room…" Loki said, looking at Tony as if he was an idiot. Which, according to Loki, he was.

"Why?" Tony asked, irritated.

"I'm tired." Loki stated, yawning loudly to prove his point.

"I'm not." Tony had to hold back a yawn, he found yawning extremely contagious.

"Your opinion still doesn't matter to me." Loki said, dragging Tony over to the door.

"Can I at least say goodbye to Pepper?" Tony asked, having given up on persuading Loki to stay.

"Your version of goodbye is a lot more X-rated than mine. So no." Loki replied. Tony sighed and opened the door into the hallway.

"So where are we sleeping tonight? Mine or yours?" asked Loki.

"My room." Tony answered.

"Why yours?"

"My roommate is Bruce. I trust him a lot more than Clint right now." Tony said, pulling Loki in the direction of his room.

Loki snorted. "Fine then. Can I at least grab my stuff?" They quickly grabbed Loki's stuff and headed over to Tony's room to get changed.

"I'm getting changed in the bathroom." Loki announced.

"Sure thing, princess." Loki ignored him. Getting changed ended up being almost impossible. Getting pants on was easy, but changing tops with one hand is impossible. They both reluctantly decided that they would have to keep the same top on for the next few days. Loki was sleeping in a sleeping bag, he downright refused to sleep in the same bed as Tony.

"Well, night." Tony said awkwardly.

"Yeah. Night." Loki replied.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki woke up with his arm being almost pulled out of its socket.

"You could just nudge me." Loki muttered; he had been deep in sleep, which didn't happen often to him.

"Where's the fun in that?" Tony grinned, Loki glared. "C'mon, I need to get ready."

"So do I!" Loki protested.

"Yeah, well I have more people to impress." Tony shot back, climbing out of bed.

"Too bad." Tony sighed and let Loki use the bathroom first. Tony called out from outside the bathroom. "So today, and however long is necessary, what should we do for classes?"

"We could alternate periods. Like I go to one of your subjects, then you go to one of mine."

"I know what alternating is." Tony snapped, annoyed. He was used to everyone treating him like the genius he was, and Loki just treated him like an idiot.

"You don't act like it." Loki smirked. Tony sighed; it was going to be a long week for him. When Loki got out Tony was grinning.

"What?" Loki asked.

"I just realized, you have to come to physics with me today." Tony reminded Loki.

"Shut up." Loki said as he rolled his eyes. Tony cracked up laughing and Loki could still hear him from outside the bathroom while he was getting changed. Tony walked out.

"I was thinking, seeing as we can't make all of our classes, we could ask someone to take notes for us or something?"

"Yeah, I'll ask Peggy. You gonna ask Bruce?" Loki asked, as he packed his bag with one hand.

"I suppose so." Tony shrugged. "Bruce?" He called out. The man in question walked into Tony's room.

"Yeah?" Bruce said, whilst cleaning his glasses.

"Can you take notes for me?" Tony asked, fluttering his eyelashes. Bruce smirked, looking at their hands.

"Sure. Have a good day, you two." He said, walking out into the hallway.

"Oh we will." Tony replied.

" Mr. Stark, why is Loki currently chained to your wrist?" Well shit. Tony hadn't thought about this. Seeing Tony struggling, Loki decided to pitch in.

"It's my psychology project, sir. Well, Peggy and I's project. It's to see what happens when two opposites are forced together for a certain amount of time." The people at the party last night had to hide their laughter. The professor nodded. "Well, Loki, I'm not expecting anything amazing from you in physics," Loki scowled as Tony burst out laughing at his expression "But if you feel like taking notes or contributing, feel free. Now, if you could get out your- Mr. Stark, stop laughing- textbooks and turn to page…" Loki sighed and slumped in his chair. However, he was surprised. Tony was actually a genius. There was no other word to explain him. Physics was mildly interesting, even though he was sitting next a mini Stephen Hawking. Psychology was great. But with Tony sighing and drumming his fingers, Loki was beginning to get irritated, Until, when the teacher asked a question, and Tony, who didn't look as if he was paying attention and who hadn't ever taken psychology, put his hand up and correctly answering it in great detail, surprising everyone in the classroom, especially Loki.

"What the hell was that?" He whispered to Tony.

"It was an easy question." Tony shrugged. Loki just shook his head and went back to taking notes. Tony admired the way Loki was so interested in his subject, and how much he excelled in it. There were few subjects that people were better at than Tony, and it looked like Psychology was one of them. Tony liked how Loki could hold up a conversation with him, he was sick of blonde models flipping their hair.

When the bell rang and they were going back to their rooms to do homework, Loki asked if he could grab some things from his room. When they got there Clint was out, probably training with Natasha, but the TV was on.

"Doctor Who? Yes!" Loki pulled Tony over to the couch and proceeded to watch it. "You like Doctor Who?" Tony asked, surprised for the second time that day.

"Yeah, problem with that?" Loki asked, daring Tony to ridicule him about is TV show taste.

"No, just, it's my favourite show as well." Tony replied defensively. He'd always loved Doctor Who, even as a young kid, Maria couldn't pull him away from it.

"Seriously?" Loki was surprised, him and Tony might _actually _have something in common.

"Yeah, and Torchwood." Loki stared at him incredulously.

"This changes everything. What else do you like?" Now Loki was curious.

"What, like music, movies, books?"

"Whatever, I suppose." Loki shrugged.

"I like punk and rock, like Black Sabbath, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy etc. Movies? Anything really, love a good horror. I don't have time to read, except textbooks, haha, but I like most stuff. You?"

"Evanescence, Paramore, Evermore, anything but annoying pop artists."

"Figured. Not bad choices. I take you're into books?" Tony said, gesturing at the piles of books stacked in Loki's bedroom.

"Yeah. Don't judge me, but I like Shakespeare and most other classics. And I like most movies but I can't stand horror."

"What? You don't like horror?" Tony inquired, shocked.

"No! I hate it!" Loki replied.

"Well you're no fun." Tony grumbled.

"Did you ever think that I was?" Loki asked, knowing the answer.

"No." was Tony's blunt reply.

"Well c'mon, I have homework." Loki informed Tony as he proceeded to drag him to the library.

"Someone's bossy." Tony stated.

"I prefer responsible." Loki sniped. Tony laughed. He hated to admit it, but Loki's sarcasm and wit was starting to grow on him.

"Wake up!" Loki hit Tony with a pillow.

"Why? It's," Tony glanced at the clock on his right." 6am! Loki, we don't have to get up until 9am"

"Well, I'm going to the gym." Loki declared, not really caring about what Tony's opinion was.

"Do I get a say?" Tony's muffled voice came from under the duvet.

"Stark, do you honestly think that I care about what your say is?" Loki said with a sigh.

"After two days of being stuck together you would've thought you cared about me a tiny bit. But no." Tony feigned hurt.

"Stalling me won't change anything. We're going to the gym." Loki unzipped his sleeping bag, and dragged Tony out from his duvet where he was curled up. Tony grabbed hold of the duvet and refused to budge, despite Loki definitely leaving bruises on his wrist from pulling him so hard.

"Have you thought about how you're going to work out with me chained to you?" Tony asked, in a desperate attempt to stall him. Loki opened his mouth again and the closed it, deep in thought.

"Exactly. So why don't we just go back to sleep and you can work out all you want when we're not like this." He gestured towards the handcuffs.

"I don't give up that easy." With a final tug, Loki managed to pull Tony away from the bed and drag him into the hallway.

"Nooooo! It's cold!" Tony objected loudly.

"How old are you again, Stark?" Loki asked

"19. But I have the intelligence of someone much older."

"But the mentality of one years younger." Loki muttered.

"I heard that!"

"That was the point. Now get your arse," Tony snorted at the British side of Loki showing. "Out of bed and get ready for the gym."

With a sigh, Tony allowed himself to be dragged to the gym at 5:15am on a Tuesday morning.

Tony sat in a chair next to the treadmill, extremely bored and watching his hand be pulled up and down, as he had for the past hour. First, Loki had gone on one of the exercise bikes, and now he was on the treadmill. As Tony sat there, and his hand flew up for 3600th time (he'd been counting), the treadmill came to a halt.

"Can we go now?" Tony whined. It was now 6:30am and he was hungry.

Loki looked around, trying to figure out if there was anything else he could go on without needing his hands. There was nothing. Loki sighed. "Yes, Stark, we can go."

"Thank bloody god." He stood up and marched out, with Loki reluctantly being dragged behind him, wiping his brow with a cloth.

"I don't see why you made such a big deal out of going to the gym." Loki said to Tony.

" I didn't make a big deal out of going to the gym. I made a big deal out of going to the gym at 5am."

"I'm sorry for wanting to be fit."

"Are you calling me unfit?" Tony turned towards Loki, with one eyebrow raised.

"Well, when you put it like that…" They both glared at each other.

"Loki?" Natasha walked up to the pair. "Plan going well I see."

Loki turned to her. "Tell me about it."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Tony protested.

"Yeah, well you've never had to spend a week with yourself, now have you?"

"Quit the arguing you two. You boys hungry?" Natasha interrupted as Tony glared at Loki.

"Starving." Tony declared.

"Right then. There's a new café down the road from campus, I was thinking of trying it out. You keen?" Nat suggested.

"Yup. Can I just have a shower first?" asked Loki.

"No! I want food!" objected Tony.

"I really don't want to go around smelling like this." Loki argued.

Natasha sighed. "Make up your mind!"

Loki tried a different approach. "Please?" He gave his best puppy dog eyes. Tony's heart skipped a beat. How could he say no to Loki's deep, emerald eyes? "Fine then." He glared at the ground. Natasha's mouth dropped. Loki smiled and walked off, taking Tony with him. Natasha ran after them and then dropped back into her usual pace next to Tony. "Did you just let him get his way?" Natasha gaped.

"Maybe." Tony frowned.

"I knew this would work! Quicker than I expected though." Natasha sounded triumphant.

"Woah, hold up. You had this planned for a while?" Now Tony was confused.

"Last year, actually."

"Why?"

"You'll see." She smiled smugly.

"This isn't just about us getting along is it?"

"You already know the answer to that question."

Tony opened his mouth to say something when his arm was again yanked sideways into Loki's room. "I'll wait here!" Nat yelled. Tony nodded and turned back around, only to walk into Clint. "Was that Natasha?" he asked the pair.

"Yeah, we're going out for coffee."

"Mind if I join?" he asked.

"Yes, actually-Ow!" Loki elbowed Tony in the ribs.

"Feel free." Loki smiled. Tony rubbed his chest as Clint raced out to talk to Nat.

"Why is he joining us?" Tony turned on Loki.

"Why do you object to him joining us?" Loki asked as he grabbed his clothes.

"I don't object to him, just the fact that it'll mean endless jokes and puns about this!" Tony gestured at the handcuffs.

"I know, but I'm trying to conduct some matchmaking here!" Tony was dumbfounded.

"What, Clint and Natasha?"

"I thought it was obvious. Clint's clearly in love, however, Natasha doesn't believe in love. She says it's for children." Loki stated simply.

Tony couldn't help himself. "And you? Do you believe in love?" He blurted out. Loki gave him an inquisitive look. He looked Tony straight in the eye and said; "If I ever find the right person, then yes." They walked to the bathroom. Once the shower was running, Tony sighed and ran a hand through his head.

God, he was falling for Loki.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'll have a soy white please." The waitress took Loki's order and him and Tony went back to their booth. They got heaps of strange looks as they entered, due to their hands. Tony already had a muffin and an espresso shot in his hand, and was struggling to balance them. Loki didn't know how his body managed to contain so much caffeine. Or alcohol, actually. They hadn't had time for Tony to shower, so he still looked like he'd just woken up. Although Loki hated to admit it, he looked really cute with his hair all tussled and curly, and Loki had an urge to smooth it down or run his hands through it. But that would mean that he liked Tony, which he didn't. Loki shook his head and sat down next to said man. Clint was talking animatedly to Nat about something to do with Karate or self-defense.

"Then, I threw him down, but on the way down he managed to twist out of my grip and punch me in the balls!" The boys made oooh sounds, Natasha just laughed.

"Never assume your opponent is defeated, until you know for sure." She said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. But when you're in the middle of sparring you don't have time to reflect on those unimportant details!" Clint complained, he hated being shown up by Natasha.

"Unimportant? Tell that to our instructor." Muttered Natasha.

"Look at you two! Fighting like a married couple! How sweet." Tony chimed in. Natasha's eyes narrowed. "Say that again Stark, and I'll murder you." Tony raised his free hand up in surrender. "Just joking, Nat."

"You better be." She growled.

Loki laughed. "Isn't she just delightful?"

"Watch it, silvertongue." She retorted. Loki glared.

"Am I missing something here?" Tony asked.

"Long story." Natasha and Loki replied simultaneously.

"Fine then, don't tell me." Tony sighed.

"Oh I won't." Loki smirked. Clint glanced at his watch.

"Guys, it's quarter to eight, I wouldn't mind heading back to campus to get ready." There were murmurs of agreement. "You guys want to go out tonight?" Clint asked, hoping Natasha would say yes.

"Sure." Loki agreed. Tony didn't look so sure.

"Well, I kinda promised Obi that I'd go to a Stark Industries charity event tonight."

"I am not going to a gala." Loki scowled.

"Well, it's kind of my duty to go, seeing as I own the business."

"I'm not going."

Tony sighed, he seemed to do that a lot around Loki. "Whether I have to drag you there or not, you're going."

"No."

"Loki, stop being a stubborn ass for once in your life."

"I'm not stubborn." Loki cried indignantly.

Tony looked at him pointedly. "You wanna say that again."

Loki huffed and folded his arms.

"Let's go back to campus." Loki said in a dejected tone.

"I'll take that as a yes then."

"Shut up, Stark." He snapped.

"Why," Tony asked, irritated, "Does no one call me Tony?"

They were in a car on the way to the Stark event, much to Loki's annoyance, when Tony's phone rang.

He glanced at the Caller ID. It was Pepper. "Hey babe. You joining us tonight?"

"Yup. Us?" Loki heard through the receiver. It was hard to sit far away with handcuffs on.

"Good luck explaining our current predicament." Loki said with a snort. Tony made a shushing gesture and went back to the call.

"Yeah. I have a, uh, surprise for you." Loki snorted again.

"Tony, who's that?"

"That's Loki."

"Loki Odinson?"

Loki scowled at the last name.

"I prefer Laufeyson these days." Ever since he found out the truth about his real father, and about his adoption, he used his biological father's last name. Not that his real father was a lot better than Odin.

"Tony, why are you in a car with Loki?"

"It's a long story."

"You better tell me, Anthony." Loki was starting to like this woman more and more, although he questioned her taste in men.

"Well, Clint may or may not have handcuffed us together." Tony waited for the angry rant. It didn't come. In fact, Pepper laughed. "Are you serious? That's the best thing I've heard all day. Even I'd become bored of your ridiculous arguments." Tony gaped. He'd been expecting something more along the lines of; "How drunk were you in order to do something as stupid as that?" But her actual reaction was much better.

"So you don't mind that I'm handcuffed to the most stubborn person in the entire universe?" Tony said. Loki hit him.

"Am I supposed to be? How far away are you guys?" Tony looked out the window.

"We're here. Where are you?"

"Just pulling in now. See you soon." She did. As soon as she exited her car, she was met by a grinning Tony and a scowling Loki.

"Hey Pep." He kissed her, as deeply as he could with Loki 's arms folded. She broke away, mainly out of pity for Loki, who had to endure this for, most likely, the entire evening.

"Hi Loki." She went to kiss him on the cheek, but he stopped her.

"I saw where those lips have been." She laughed.

"Too true. So how's school?" And the awkward small talk had begun.

Tony answered, "Its great! Weapons development is really good, we're currently-"

"I was talking to Loki." Pepper interrupted. "What subjects do you take?"

" Well, I major in Psychology, if you can even call it majoring. I do a lot of defence stuff as well, but I've been kind of restricted this week, so I need to catch up."

"I figured. If you don't mind me asking, why do you find Psychology useful in intelligence training?"

"Yeah, Loki, why do you find it useful?" Tony echoed in mock interest.

"Have you ever seen C.S.I or and criminal investigation programs?" The others nodded.

"Well a lot of that is Psychology. It helps you to infiltrate clubs or gangs, because you can understand how they act, and act that way yourself. You can also predict how someone is going to react, and what they're thinking by their body language. That's just a few reasons why, but there are loads more reasons why I take it."

"So you want to be a field agent then? Rather than building weapons?

"Hey, I don't just build weapons." Tony argued.

"Tony, you take Weapons Development. I doubt you all sit down learning about fashion or something." Pepper retorted. Oh yes, Loki liked this woman.

"Yes, I am aiming to be a field agent." The conversation was put on hold as they walked through the entrance, and all the stares that followed. Pepper had to run off and say hello to Tony's good friend James, more commonly known as Rhodey, leaving Loki bored and Tony being the charming host he is.

"Tony!" A bald man with a beard came up to Tony and shook his hand.

"One moment please." Tony said goodbye to the woman he was talking to/flirting with and turned to his guardian. "Obi! Nice to see you, how's my business?" Obi's eyes went dark as Tony said this, giving Loki the tiniest bit of suspicion about him.

"Good, good. How's school, doing well?"

"Of course."

"Weapons development going alright?" Tony's eyes lit up.

"Finally, someone that's interested." Tony nattered on about this, giving Loki sometime to work on his opinion of Obadiah. He seemed like a decent person, who was genuinely interested in Tony's intelligence. However, Loki didn't miss the slight frown and darkening of the eyes whenever Stark Industries was mentioned. It was commonly known that once Tony turned 21 he would become CEO of Stark Industries, kicking Obi out of that much-desired position. But Loki was probably reading too much into this, so he just grabbed some champagne for him and Tony and went back to listening to Tony drone on about new nano-technology.

"Hey is that for me?" Tony pointed at the other glass in Loki's hand. He took it without waiting for an answer.

"Watch your drinking Tony, we know what day it is tomorrow." Tony paled, and then downed the rest of the champagne in seconds.

"What day is it tomorrow?"

"None of your business, Shakespeare. Let's go to the bar." Alright, then. Whatever day it was tomorrow, it was clearly a sore spot. No matter how much Loki despised Tony, he wouldn't push it. At least not yet.

"Can I get another scotch?" The bartender raised an eye at Tony.

"Sir, you've already had three, along with a shot of tequila. I'm afraid I can't serve you any more." Tony banged the glass down on the table and looked ready to start a fight.

"Tony…" Loki warned him.

"Shut the fuck up, pretty boy. I don't need you to look after me, alright?" Luckily, Pepper chose that moment to come marching over. "Come on boys, we're going home."

"Fine with me." Tony winked at Pepper and put his free hand around her waist. Loki just rolled his eyes and followed them to Pepper's car.

When they arrived back at Pepper's dorm (they weren't allowed anyone that wasn't family at campus except on weekends), Tony locked the door and proceeded to make out with Pepper against the door. This was both embarrassing and uncomfortable for Loki, as wherever Tony's hands went, Loki's went too. Loki was fine with this arrangement for a while, he understood Tony's, er, needs, but when Tony attempted to take Pepper's top off, both Pepper and Loki realized there was a line.

"Tony, stop. You're drunk." She tried to push Tony off.

"That's never stopped us before." He kept on trying to force himself on Pepper.

"Just stop." Loki dragged Tony into Pepper's room, leaving her to fix her top.

"Tony, you need to sleep."

"Yes _mum._" Tony dived onto the bed, twisting Loki's wrist in the process.

"Could you've at least tried not to do that so painfully?" Said Loki as he tried to arrange himself in a way that was comfortable for the both of them.

"Could've, should've, didn't." Tony lay back and stared at Loki. Tony's eyes were already starting to droop. He was struggling to keep them open. But before he fell asleep, he muttered a sentence, just audible enough for Loki to hear.

"You have nice eyes." Loki stopped breathing for a moment. Pepper entered the room.

"He off to sleep?" Loki nodded. Tony was sprawled across the bed, leaving no room whatsoever for Loki. Meaning that Loki would have to sleep sitting up against the bed.

"He's not that bad, you know." Pepper was talking to Loki.

"Who, Tony?"

"Yeah. He's the funniest guy I know, and at the start of our relationship, he was very protective, but not clingy. He's a good guy, but I worry about him."

"Why?"

Pepper sighed. "He's gone through a lot. Drinking and making jokes is a coping mechanism. Aside from that, he's got a good heart. But there's still one thing I can't figure out. Why don't you like him? What's he done to you? Like I'm sure you have your reasons, but I guess I'm just curious."

It was Loki's turn to sigh. "I don't know. I guess I didn't like his attitude, he was extremely cocky and arrogant when we first met, but after that he wasn't too bad, weirdly enough. I guess first impressions make the most impact on my judge of character. Plus, he didn't seem to like me too much either." Pepper looked at Loki, deep in thought.

"When did you first meet Tony?" Pepper asked, hoping she'd be wrong.

"First day of college last year." Loki remembered that day very clearly.

"No, like the date." Pepper shook her head.

"September 6th."

Pepper's eyes widened. "Of course he was a prick then, his parents had just died!"

Loki swung his head back to her. "Wait, what?"

"I thought you majored in Psychology. You should know that a drinking problem is usually a sign of repression and blocking things from the past, namely traumatic experiences such as death of a loved one, or in Tony's case loved _ones_."

"Well, I knew that, but I didn't know about his family! And since when were you a Psychologist?" Loki was dumbfounded, and slightly pissed. Psychology was his thing.

"He's got no one left. Except Obi, but I don't trust him."

"Neither. How did his parents, you know, die?"

"Car crash. Tony didn't want pity, so he acted like it never happened, like he wasn't close to them. Maybe not close to his father, but him and his mother were very close. It hit him hard, not that he showed it to anyone but me. And Rhodey."

"I-I didn't know…"

"The less you know the better. Tony almost kills anyone that mentions it. What time is it? I have an early class tomorrow."

"It's-" He glanced at his watch "Eleven o'clock- wait is today the 5th of September?"

"Yup."

"That means that tomorrow is…"

"Why else do you think Tony's been a dick tonight? Coping mechanism, remember? Go easy on him; don't mention anything about his family. Everyone else knows to leave him alone, he gets really snappy."

"Thanks. Good night."

"Night." She smiled.

"Oh, and Pepper?"

"Yeah?" She turned as she opened the door.

"You guys are good together."

"Thanks, but I don't think it's working out."

"What?"

"Night."


	5. Chapter 5

It was 6am when Pepper went back into her room to grab some clothes.

"Pepper?" She turned around. Loki was awake.

"Oh, sorry if I woke you up! I'm just grabbing some clothes. Good sleep?"

"Didn't get any." She noticed that the dark rings around his eyes were more prominent than usual.

"I didn't think it would be the most comfortable position." She said light-heartedly.

"No, I don't usually sleep much." Loki admitted, yawning. His white teeth flashed, before he covered his mouth with his hand.

"Oh. Are you an insomniac or something?" Pepper asked.

"Something like that." Loki said vaguely. There was a long pause.

"Well, I'd best be off." She gave a curt nod.

"Thanks for, you know, letting us stay." Loki said.

"No problem. Just remember to go easy on him today, okay?" Pepper reminded.

"Yeah I will." She smiled and then walked off. As the door blew shut, Tony stirred.

"Hey, you awake?" Loki asked quietly.

Tony groaned. "My head. Ugh, help me!"

Loki snorted. "Serves you right. But luckily I'm in a good mood this morning, so I'll go to the effort of making you an anti-hangover smoothie."

"Stop speaking so loudly!" Tony complained. Eventually Loki managed to half-carry, half-drag Tony out of bed, much to his reluctance, and make him a smoothie.

"Why can't I just have coffee?" Tony grumbled.

"Do you really want me to go into the logical reasoning behind it?" Loki said with a roll of his eyes.

"It's too early." Tony said. Loki ignored him and went back to rooting around the cupboard for ingredients.

"You're not lactose-intolerant are you?" Loki asked.

"No."

"That makes my life easier." He muttered. It was quite difficult trying to find things with Tony refusing to move next to him. At last he found the blender, and he tipped the ingredients in and blended it. He poured it into a cup and passed it to Tony.

"Here, drink this."

Tony made a face. "It's green."

"It's spirulina. It will help with your headache." He pulled out two Nurofen tablets and gave them to Tony as well. "As will these."

"Thanks." He was too distracted by his headache to bother asking why Loki carried around spare Nurofen.

He took a sip of his smoothie and nodded. "Not bad, Shakespeare."

Loki was confused. "Shakespeare?"

"Yeah, because of the way you speak."

"I do not speak like Shakespeare."

"Yeseth you doeth." Loki raised an eyebrow.

"That is so not Shakespearean." He smirked.

"I don't give a fuck, you arrogant son of a bitch." Tony snapped suddenly. Loki saw what Pepper was talking about. Loki raised his hands in surrender "Okay, okay. You wanna head back to campus? I have psychology in 45, but I figured you'd want a shower."

Tony glared into his glass. "Whatever you say, Princess. You are the better one of the two of us, right? That's why everyone invites you out, not me."

Loki was going to be doing a lot of ignoring today. "Let's go." He wrote a note to Pepper thanking her again, and they left in a cab, seeing as neither could drive with one hand.

The drive was silent. With Tony scowling at everything Loki tried to say, Loki just gave up on conversation. The rest of the day passed in silence, until dinner. They joined the others in the campus cafeteria, but Loki didn't think it was a good idea. He knew Tony would snap at anything anyone said, making impossible to have a conversation, but they joined the others anyway.

"Look it's the jailbirds!" Jailbirds was Clint's nickname for Tony and Loki, despite them telling him numerous times to stop it.

"Shut it, Clint." Tony growled. Clint raised an eyebrow, but went back to his food in silence. The others exchanged worried looks.

"So, Thor, how's class so far?" Loki asked, feigning interest just to ease the tension.

Thor beamed. "It's great! We've been doing tasks more specific to our skills in defence, so it's not as easy as last year." They all laughed, remembering how almost every sparring partner that Thor had last year ended up significantly worse off. The only person who was a match for Thor was Loki, surprisingly. He had better speed and agility than Thor, but not strength. They wouldn't be sparring again this year, due to being put in separate defence classes. They talked and joked some more about professors and classes, until Natasha decided to include Tony.

"So Tony, how's Weapons Development?" They all turned to Tony.

"What's it to you? Finally remembered I'm here?" He glared at all of them.

"Just asking, Tony. No need to snap. Calm down." Natasha said in her usual cool and even tone. However, it had the opposite effect on Tony. It made him much, much angrier.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? I'll fucking show you calm!" He stood up. He wasn't anywhere near enough strong enough to fight any of them. But they were all taken by surprise at Tony's out-of-character outburst, that they had no idea what to do. Loki did, though.

"You're just making things worse, Stark." Everyone was surprised at Loki pitching in.

Tony glared down on him. "What would you know? You know nothing about my life!"

"Actually, I do." Loki said, ignoring the weird looks from the rest of the group.

"Like what?" Tony snarled.

"I know what day today is." Loki stated, as Tony paled.

"How?" Tony demanded.

"Calm down and I'll tell you." Loki reasoned. Tony didn't budge. Loki sighed. "Let's go back to your room." Tony took a deep breath and nodded. Loki smiled. "See you guys later, then." They all nodded, still too shocked to say anything.

Loki turned to leave, when Clint yelled out. "Loki! I have something for you." Loki turned around. Clint was fumbling in his pocket. Finally, he pulled out a key. "You guys deserve it." He threw it at Loki, who caught it easily. They walked off silently.

"Well that was interesting." Clint muttered to Natasha.

Loki hid the key in his pocket until they got back. He wouldn't unlock the handcuffs until Tony talked to him. He shut the door behind him and turned to Tony "What the hell is going on?" Loki demanded.

Tony turned on him. "Like I said last night, none of your fucking business. And tell Pepper I don't appreciate her telling you about my private life."

"It's not exactly private. It was all over the newspaper as well." Loki said, annoyed at the accusation.

"Something tells me you didn't find out from the newspaper." Tony said, his anger rising.

"Looks like you caught me red handed. Happy?" Loki said sarcastically.

"I'm never happy." Tony said.

Loki snorted. "Join the club."

"What do you have to be unhappy about? Thor getting better grades than you? Mummy not kissing you goodnight?" Loki willed himself to be patient, and not give Tony the satisfaction of him retaliating. Tony kept going, backing Loki up against the wall.

" Does wittle wee Loki miss home? Does wittle Loki feel lonely?" That was it. In a heartbeat, Loki twisted out of Tony's reach and shoved him against the wall, with his hands tightly gripping Tony's collar.

"Listen to me," He snarled, his voice low and quiet, "I understand what you've gone through, and trust me, I get it. But don't fucking act like you know me. Like my life is fucking perfect. Because it's not, believe me. You leave me alone, and I'll leave you. Once this is over, you can feel free to hate me as much as you want. But don't you dare think of me as a rich snob who lives a perfect life. So. Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Understand?" Tony nodded and Loki let him go.

Tony looked slightly worried, and curious. Before he could ask Loki what the fuck was going on with him, his phone rang. It was Pepper, just wondering how Tony was, and if he wanted to stay at hers that night. Tony politely declined, saying he was still handcuffed to Loki. He hung up and threw the phone on his bed, sitting down next to Loki, who was sitting on the floor.

"So how much longer are you stuck with me for?" Tony said after a few minutes, attempting to make small talk.

"Well actually Stark, I have a present for you." Loki said, as he moved closer. Tony's mind went wild with all sorts of dirty thoughts as to what presents Loki could give him. These thoughts, and his oncoming erection were stopped when Loki grabbed his cuffed wrist.

Loki took the key out of his pocket and pulled Tony's arm closer to his eye, so he get unlock the handcuffs more easily. The room was silent, until the click of the lock on Tony's cuff broke the silence.

Tony shook his own hand around and flexed his fingers. "Thank god!" He exclaimed, trying to distract himself from dirty thoughts. He walked over to grab his phone. However, the other cuff refused to let go of Loki's wrist.

"Stark? Can you give me a hand?" Loki said as he stood up. He hated asking for help.

Tony turned around and smirked. "Are you asking for my help?"

"Maybe." Loki said.

"I'll help you if you ask nicely." Tony replied.

Loki sighed. "Anthony Stark, (He still refused to call him Tony) could you please help me?"

"Tell me how amazing I am."

"Isn't that what the whole female population at this school is for?" He laughed, Loki smiled, glad that Tony was calming down. He walked over and pulled at the cuff. The cuff went flying off into some corner, leaving Loki's left wrist in Tony's hand. Loki suddenly paled, remembering what wrist it was. He tried to yank his wrist away, but Tony had already felt the scars. Tony's warm, worried brown eyes stared into Loki's emerald ones.

"Loki? Did you do this?" Loki looked away. "You did, didn't you?"

Loki glared at him, he was good with emotions, as long as they weren't his own. "Why do you care?" It took Tony a lot of self-control to yell out what he wanted to say. "You hate me, remember?" Loki added.

"Loki, do you honestly believe that I could spend a week with you and still hate you?"

"Everybody else seems to." Loki said this so quietly, that Tony could only just make out what he said.

"Who told you that? Who told you such things, that it drove yourself to do this?" Tony said, gesturing at Loki's wrist.

"Because whoever it was, they're wrong. You aren't worthless, in fact you're the furthest thing from it."

Loki raised his head. "My father told me this. My own father. It can't help but hurt a little."But why? What have you done to him?" Tony asked, perplexed.

Loki gave an empty laugh. "What I did to him was out of my control. The only thing I was ever guilty of, was not being his own flesh and blood."

Tony was confused. "You're adopted?"

"You really are quiet forward Stark. Maybe that's why I like you."

"So you do like me!" Tony said, triumphantly.

"Stark, do you honestly believe that I could spend a week with you and still hate you?" Loki threw his words back at him.

"Nice words. Don't change the subject. But Thor, he loves you though, right?" Tony asked.

Loki sighed. "Thor is foolish, he has yet to notice the difference in treatment between us."

"I understand. When my mother, Maria, died, she was the only one that loved me. For a long time, I thought she was the only one that ever would. I didn't want to be alive, and I had no one to talk to. But I'm still here. Because I have hope that one day I will find somebody else that loves me. Because I need to prove myself. I have the entire world watching my every move. But I keep going, and you should do the same."

Loki couldn't look at him, scared he was going to break down. But he wouldn't, especially not in front of Tony. "I should go. I have early morning classes. Thanks for the pep talk." Loki turned to leave. "Bye, Stark."

"Later, Shakespeare." Loki laughed and shut the door.

Tony sighed and flopped down on his bed. He'd just shared all his secrets, everything he'd ever hidden, with the most unlikely person. But he wasn't surprised. Weirdly enough, he trusted Loki. And Tony didn't trust many people, apart from Pepper and now, apparently, Loki. He got changed and crawled into bed. But his mind was still on Loki. How could it not be? What, with his gorgeous emerald green eyes, and his amazingly toned body. Not to mention his raven dark hair, that was a perfect contrast with his perfect, pale skin. And his voice. God, Loki's voice would be the death of him. His British accent was a massive turn-on. Imagine that voice, moaning underneath Tony for him to go harder, and faster. His short moans. Tony would erase all trace of that cool and calm tone. He would make Loki feel good. And Loki would return the favor. It was no surprise that by now Tony's hands were in his pants, gently stroking his extremely hard cock. But then all common sense come flooding back in. Loki didn't like him. In fact, Loki didn't really like anyone, except Natasha. Tony reluctantly yanked his had away and made himself think very unsexy thoughts. It sort of worked.

Tony knew he would now have to do everything in he could to not mess with Loki's emotions. Not just because Loki was most likely straight and very much not into Tony, but because even if a fraction of what Tony felt for Loki was reciprocated, it could ruin both of them. Loki's life was fucked up, and Tony didn't want to hurt him. But the good thing was, was that Tony's life was fucked up to. Maybe two fucked up lives could make a good one. So Tony tried to forget about Loki.

But he couldn't help but notice that he couldn't sleep with Loki no longer next to him.


	6. Chapter 6

A week later

"Okay, class, pick a partner with the same fitness and sparring level with you and start your warm down."

It was 10am, and Loki was nearing the end of his two-hour long defence session. Natasha paired up with Clint, and Loki with Maria. Maria smirked, preparing to beat Loki, like usual. This was his first session in sparring this year, so she expected him to be an easy opponent, despite them being at similar levels. Little did she know that Loki had been exercising all holidays and training almost everyday. He was well prepared to take her down. She sent a kick towards him, but was surprised when he grabbed her foot. So surprised, that she couldn't think of what to do next, and Loki ended up twisting her leg and throwing her on the ground. She rolled over and glared at him.

She stood back up, as Loki whispered "Don't underestimate me." She rolled her eyes and waited for him to make a move. Now she was out for revenge. He threw a neat punch, but she grabbed his right wrist and twisted it behind his back, leaving him unable to fight back, unless he used his legs. Using this momentary distraction, she kicked him in the balls and pushed him on the ground, still twisting his arms. She waited like this until he finally submitted. But she held his arms, enjoying being in charge.

"For god's sake Maria let go of me!" She smiled innocently.

"I'll let you go on one condition."

He writhed on the ground, even after going through basic interrogation training he was still struggling to keep his mouth shut. "What do you want?"

"Go out with me tonight." Loki was shocked, he wasn't expecting that.

"Um, okay. Meet you by your dorm at 7pm."

She smiled and let go. "See you then." And she walked off, leaving Loki completely confused.

*** A week later…

Loki's week with Maria was good. She was really funny, and easy to get along with. And a good kisser. He liked her, but he didn't feel a spark. He just liked her as just a friend. Unfortunately, when it came to relationships, Loki was terrible at breaking them off, so he generally waited for the partner to do it. Maria seemed slightly underwhelmed on their date, and the night that followed. It had been good, but not amazing.

He was walking into his room when he was greeted by none other than Tony. They hadn't seen each other in a week, Tony was spending a lot of time with Pepper. Actually, he was just avoiding Loki, but he wouldn't tell him that. But now Tony had heard that Maria and Loki were dating. And he was pissed. Because, yeah, Maria was nice, but she wasn't Loki's type. And Tony was going to tell him that. Except he hadn't quite figured out how.

"Loki." He nodded at the extremely attractive man in front of him.

"Stark, why the hell are you in my room? And how did you get in?" Loki was cute when he was confused. Tony hadn't missed the fact that Loki was wearing a leather jacket and looked incredibly sexy in it.

"Oh, you know. Clint." Tony made up as an excuse. He was good at picking locks when he could be bothered.

"Why?" Loki asked again.

Tony shrugged. "I needed to talk to you."

Loki's head shot up from where he was playing with his keys. "Why? What's wrong?" Aw, how cute. Loki was caring about Tony.

"Nothing bad! Just, Maria." Tony said quickly.

"What about her?" Loki's eyes narrowed slightly.

Well here goes. "She's not right for you." Loki raised an eyebrow.

"And what gives you the right to say that?" Loki said defensively.

"She's just not your type." Tony offered as an explanation.

"Then what is my type, Stark?" _Me, _thought Tony.

"I don't know! It's just not her, alright!" Tony burst out, he knew the conversation would go nowhere.

"Stop making judgments on my love life before you even bother to know it." Loki spat.

"It's not that I don't like Maria, I just don't like her with you."

"You know nothing about me." Loki claimed coldly.

This just made Tony angry. Okay, maybe Tony was a little jealous, but he wouldn't tell Loki that. Yet. But now he was pissed, and nothing good was going to come out of what he said next.

"I know you drink soy milk because Thor always used to spit in the normal milk. I know you don't sleep at night because you're scared of the nightmares. I know you exercise to stop thinking about everything going wrong in your life. I know you love your mother, but you can't express it. I know you and Natasha became friends due to a mutual hatred of people. I know you have a weakness for blueberry muffins, because your mother used to bake them for you. I know you take Psychology so you can understand what the hell is going on in your mind. And I know you're insecure about yourself when you have no reason to be. So don't tell me I don't know you." Tony said quickly.

There was silence as Loki inwardly freaked out at this. He didn't like people being close to him, especially if they said what Tony had just said.. All he could do was balk.

"Fine then, I'll go. Have fun with you_ girlfriend_." Tony spat vehemently. He turned to the door and walked out, almost crashing into Maria herself. She didn't look too happy. Tony glared at her and slammed the door.

"Loki?" He turned around.

"Oh, hey Maria. What are you doing here?"

She smiled softly. "I heard your conversation."

"Oh." He looked worried. "Don't listen to Tony, he's being weird."

"It's fine. Everything he said was true. I'm not your type. But I know someone who is. And I hope you both realize it before it's too late. I'm sorry Loki, but we can still be friends, right?" He nodded and she left.

_That was surprisingly convenient, _Loki thought.

To be honest, Loki didn't really mind. But what she'd said about someone else being Loki's type worried him. Who was it? Guy or girl? The only person that came into his head straight away was Tony. But it couldn't be. Not Tony, surely not Tony. But who else? It was weird, Loki didn't mind the thought of dating Tony now. Not that it would ever happen of course. Tony and Pepper were still together, although she had said it wasn't going well. And Loki couldn't help but dream. Tony would be an amazing kisser, for sure. And good in bed. And he understood Loki. Now that he thought about it, it really would make sense for them to be together, oddly. _Dammit, Stark,_ Loki knew it would never happen. 1. Tony was straight. 2. He was with Pepper. 3. Loki was too insecure to have a relationship with anybody. But god, he wanted Tony.

*A week later*

"Brother! You are free of those manacles!" Thor declared happily, before almost killing Loki in one of his infamous hugs.

"Hello, Thor." Loki muttered.

"Would you fancy lunch together?" Thor asked.

Nat, Clint and Peggy were busy, so Loki accepted. They talked about classes and teachers when Thor brought up the subject of Tony.

"Did you know Tony has just broken up with Pepper?"

"What?" Loki almost spat out his salad.

"Yeah, it was mutual. It hadn't been going well for a while."

"Oh. That's too bad. I hope they're okay." Loki was secretly thrilled, not that he'd have a chance anyway.

They continued, until four when Thor had to meet up with Jane. Loki walked back to his room; He had the rest of the day free. However, his plans were interrupted when certain brown-eyed genius literally ran into him.

"Sorry-Oh it's you. How've you been?" Tony seemed slightly distracted.

"Fine, I guess. How're you?"

Tony yawned and ran his hand through his hair. Loki couldn't help but notice how incredibly sexy that simple movement was. "Been busy. How's your girlfriend?" Loki didn't miss the hint of hostility towards the end of the sentence.

Loki laughed. "Maria? You were right, she heard our, uh, argument and dumped me straight after you left." Loki admitted.

Tony's eyes lit up. _Loki was single. _Plus he didn't sound mad at Tony about their argument, he practically sounded relieved to talk to him

_"_So, uh how's Pepper?" Loki asked, trying to break the silence.

Tony stiffened. "Haven't spoken to her in a while. We kind of broke up."

"How do you 'kind of' break up with someone?"

"Well, it was mutual, but she's still a bit annoyed." Tony lied, Pepper wasn't annoyed.

"If it was mutual, then why is she annoyed?" Loki asked, frustrated at the lack of information.

"Well, she had her reasons. Mine weren't so innocent." Tony looked away.

"What do you mean? You're being extremely vague here." Loki said irritably.

"I like someone else." Tony turned back to face Loki. That was not what

Loki had been expecting. He'd been expecting something like Tony had cheated on her or something.

"Are you going to tell me who she is?" Loki's mouth dropped. "It's not Maria is it?"

Tony laughed at his expression; he looked like an innocent puppy who had just heard the most controversial thing in the world. "No! Definitely not." Loki let out a sigh of relief. Tony decided to be brave. "What makes you think it's a she?"

Loki raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you were…gay."

"I prefer the term bi-sexual." Tony declared with a smirk, hoping Loki wouldn't mind.

"Oh." Was all Loki could say.

"I take it you weren't expecting that then." Tony laughed nervously.

"I will admit I am surprised." Loki admitted.

"So are we all good? You won't, you know, judge me. Right?"

Loki smiled. "Now that would just be hypocritical."

Now Tony was confused. "What?"

"I guess we have something else in common." Loki continued to smile.

"Wait, are you saying you're bi as well?" Tony asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I guess." Loki sighed.

"We should start a club!" Tony yelled, jokingly.

"How about no?" Loki glared. Tony laughed. Loki was just about to reprimand Tony for being so pretentious, when Bruce walked up to the pair in the corridor, ready to begin a study session with Tony.

"Tony, Loki." He nodded at the latter.

"Hey, Bruce." Loki smiled.

"Sorry to break up your conversation, but Tony and I need to head off to the library."

Tony groaned. "Do we have to?"

"Yes, Tony, we do. We can't all be geniuses like you." Bruce remarked.

"And you know it." Tony smirked. Loki sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll meet you there, Bruce." Bruce nodded and walked off, leaving the pair alone.

"Wait here, I'm just grabbing my books." Tony told Loki, as he entered his room. Tony walked in and took a deep breath, remembering his and Pepper's talk.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Listen Tony, we need to talk." Tony's head snapped up, he'd been expecting this. He loved Pepper, he had since he'd first met her, but the love was turning back into friendship._

_"I know." Tony shut his laptop. Pepper sat down next to him._

_"I'm not going to cry, so don't look so worried." Tony was shit at emotional break ups._

_"Tony, you know I love you, right? And I know you love me, but our relationship isn't what is used to be, and you know that. I want this to be quick, and there's also not much that needs to be said. I guess we both know how this will end. We're going to remain good friends, because that's how we've always been. If there's anything you want to say, say it now." Pepper looked at Tony, who had a sad smile on his face. Everything Pepper said was true. He wasn't sad, or angry, just calm. But he had to tell Pepper one last thing._

_"I-I think I might like someone else." Pepper smiled at him._

_"I know." That was not the reaction Tony had been expecting._

_"You do?" He said, curious._

_"And I know who it is. I knew who probably before you did."_

_Tony frowned. "Who, then?"_

_"That's for you to decide, not me. I guess I should probably go now."_

_"Okay. I'll guess I'll be seeing you around then." Tony hugged his closest friend, who then left to head back to campus._

_FLASHBACK ENDS_

Tony thought about what Pepper said, and he agreed. Whilst Loki wasn't exactly the best person at showing how he felt, and Tony really did not want to pressure him. But his feelings for Loki had gone way past being just a crush. As Tony went back to Loki, he had a sudden adrenalin rush and just thought, _what the hell, why not?_

"Listen, Shakespeare, I have to go." Was it just Tony or did Loki's face fall slightly?

"Okay. See you later, then." Loki turned to leave.

"Actually, what are you doing later?" Tony asked, attempting to hide his nervousness.

Loki hid a smile. "Nothing, why?"

"We should do something. Like get dinner or whatever." Tony replied nonchalantly.

"Okay."

"Cool, I'll meet you back here at," Tony checked his watch, it was 4:30pm, "6:30pm. If that's alright?"

Loki nodded. "Guess I'll see you then." With that, Loki quickly flung himself into his room before Tony could notice the grin on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

As Loki sped through his Psych paper, he thought about Tony. Loki had a habit of over-thinking things, and that was exactly what he was doing right now. Now that he knew Tony was bi, everything changed. There was now the slightest chance that Tony might actually like him. He had sort of asked Loki out after all. But still, why would Tony like Loki anyway? He was an emotionally unstable Psych major, everything Tony did not like. Tony liked blondes, Loki had raven black hair. Loki preferred the company of close friends, whereas Tony loved meeting new people. With a sigh, Loki decided that he would try to forget his feelings about Tony, seeing as they were clearly one way. Loki looked at his watch, it was now 5:15pm. Loki sighed, and lay back in his chair, having no idea how to spend the next hour. He got up to get a drink, when his phone beeped. It was Tony.

**Can we change the time to 6pm? I have to meet up with a professor at 7:30.**

Loki flicked back a reply. _Yeah sure. _Well, that cut down some time.

Loki was pulling his jacket on, when Tony knocked on his door. Before Loki opened it he turned back to his roommate.

"Later, Clint." Loki said, with his hand on the door handle.

Clint looked up from his assignment. "I won't be back till later. I'm going to the gym with Nat." Clint replied. Loki grinned and opened the door.

Tony really was not helping Loki's I-do-not-like-Stark plan.

Tony was wearing one of his signature Black Sabbath singlets, and it showed his muscles in an extremely unfair way. His hair was all tussled, the way Loki liked it, and he was wearing grey jeans.

Loki nodded. "Hey."

Tony smiled. "Hi, you ready to go?"

Loki darted back into his room and grabbed his phone. In the few seconds he was gone. Tony sighed. Loki looked really good. As in really, really good. He was wearing his sexy leather jacket again, with a dark green shirt and black jeans. Well, Tony was going to make the most of this night, that was for sure.

Loki appeared back in the doorway. "Come on, let's go." He urged Tony. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah, yeah." Tony replied.

The restaurant was an Italian place that was surprisingly empty for a Friday night. They sat down in a booth, next to a mirror. They chatted about school for a bit, when Tony asked something he'd always been really curious about.

"No offense, but why is your name Loki?" Tony asked.

Loki smiled. "Loki is a Norse God. My parents have always been really into Norse mythology, so they named Thor and I after them. Well, Frigga did. My biological parents never gave me a name, so when I was given to Odin and Frigga, they named me Loki. Thor is the God of Thunder, and Loki is the God of Mischief." Loki explained.

Tony wiggled his eyebrows. "What kind of mischief?"

"Every kind you can think of." Loki winked. Tony laughed. So much for not flirting with each other.

Tony thought of something else. "Why does Natasha call you silver tongue?"

Loki sighed. "The God, Loki, is a silver tongue. It means you have a way with words, able to manipulate people without them even knowing. It also means you're a good liar."

That didn't surprise Tony. "Any other reasons?" Tony smirked.

"You have a sick mind, Stark." Loki said, struggling not to laugh.

There was a pause as their food arrived. Neither was very hungry, so it didn't take long to finish.

"So," said Loki. "Tell me about this crush of yours."

Tony felt nervous. Now was his chance. "He's good, I guess."

"What's he like?" Loki asked. Was it just Tony or did Loki sound jealous? "Is he attractive?"

Tony smiled to himself. "Yeah, very. He can be as sexy as fuck, but also as cute as a kitten." Loki would hate that comparison.

"Smart?" Loki asked.

"Very. I don't think he realizes it though." Tony answered, smiling slightly.

"What, that he's smart or that you think he's smart?"

"Both, I guess."

Loki sighed. "Just tell me who he is!" he pleaded.

"He's here right now."

Loki looked around. "Do I know him?"

"Yup."

Loki kept looking. "Where is he?" Now Loki was annoyed. Who was this so-called crush that was so perfect? Probably someone a lot more confident and attractive than him.

He asked again. "Please tell me!"

Tony took a deep breath. _Here goes, _he thought. "Look to your left."

On Loki's left was a mirror. "Please don't tell me you're so conceited that you're in love with yourself." It wasn't, it _couldn't _be Loki.

Tony laughed nervously. "Mine isn't the only reflection."

Loki may or may not have inwardly screamed at that. "You…mean me?"

Tony nodded. "Yup. Surprised?"

Loki looked completely shocked. "A bit."

Now Tony was worried. He'd probably completely ruined their friendship now. Fuck.

There was a long pause. "I think we should be heading back to campus now." Tony suggested.

"Yup." Loki quickly replied, standing up. He honestly did not know what to say. Speechlessness did not occur to him often.

When they arrived back at Loki's room, Tony pretty much hated himself. What made him think that Loki liked him back? Clearly he didn't! He sighed and closed the door on his way into Loki's room. Clint was still out.

"Listen, Loki, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but I just really like you and I still hope we can, even though the feeling isn't mutual, be friends-"

Tony was cut off as Loki pushed him against the door and kissed the life out of him. Tony was shocked at first, but soon melted into it. The kiss was perfect. Loki's lips were slightly cold and soft, and Tony's were warm. Tony had one hand tangled in Loki's raven hair, and the other on the small of his back, holding them together. Loki's hands were resting gently on Tony's chest. Neither wanted to stop, but they needed air.

"Who said the feeling wasn't mutual, because it sure wasn't me." Loki panted, as he pulled away. Tony smiled, a genuine smile that made his deep brown eyes light up.

"I thought you didn't like me?" Tony said.

"I think I just proved the exact opposite." Loki said raising an eyebrow.

"Unless you're already having second thoughts…"

"No!" Tony cried. "Definitely not." He laced his hand with Loki's. "Anything but."

"So does this make us a couple?" Loki asked.

"If you want it to, then yeah." Tony replied.

"Do you want it to?" Loki said.

"Do you?"

"Of course I do, idiot." Loki snapped. Tony smiled.

"You're feisty." Tony smirked.

"Oh shut up." Loki tutted.

"Make me." Tony was enjoying this. Loki brought his lips to Tony's once again, smiling into the kiss. Loki pulled back.

"I'm starting to like this." Tony said.

Loki laughed. "I'd noticed."

Tony looked at his watch. "Shit! It's 7:30! I have to meet with my lecturer. I'm so sorry!"

Loki looked slightly crestfallen. "It's fine, I'll see you tomorrow. Text me, yeah?"

Tony nodded, and quickly kissed Loki. "Bye, don't miss me too much!"

Loki snorted. "You wish." Tony winked and left, closing the door as he went. Loki walked into his room, his head teeming with thoughts. Quite frankly, he was dumbstruck. He honestly had not expected Tony to reciprocate his feelings in any way. He touched his lips gently, and gently ghosted his fingers over them, as if trying to remember the feel of Tony's lips against his. Loki sat down on his bed and pulled his laptop out from its charger, and began to write in his diary. When he was on the Internet, he saw that one highly recommended way of dealing with stress and anxiety was to keep a diary. So he did. Loki wrote in it daily, sometimes just random things or highlights, sometimes long paragraphs in great detail. A lot of it consisted of his feelings towards Tony, so god forbid he found it, Tony certainly did not need the ego boost. Once he'd finished, he got ready for bed, even though he hardly ever slept. He couldn't, not when every time he closed his eyes he was plagued by nightmares. Most of the time he just lay there, thinking. Tonight, he thought about Tony. Loki wasn't the clingy type, far from it, but he knew what Tony was like. Loki had enough trust issues as it was, and it was going to take him a while to build trust with someone he'd only known for a short while, no matter how much he cared for him. Loki knew that Tony wasn't going to cheat on him, or make him uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but worry. This… relationship with Tony- Loki loved how he could finally say it- would be interesting.

No matter how much Loki stressed about being with Tony, he couldn't help but remember how good Tony's lips felt on his.

As Tony left his meeting with one of his professors, he had a skip in his step. Tony couldn't believe his luck; he honestly had thought that Loki wouldn't want anything to do with him, after his confession. And Tony was scared. He never fell in love with people, he was shit at dealing with emotions, especially his own, and he really didn't want to screw up his relationship with Loki. Loki was insecure, that was for sure, for reasons Tony did not know. And Loki didn't have a great record of mental health, but maybe Tony was what he needed to get better. Tony wasn't going to rush the relationship, because he wanted Loki to feel safe. And above all, he wanted Loki to trust him.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a Saturday morning, which meant no classes, and both the boys were free. Loki was woken up at seven by a text from Tony.

**Morning, sunshine.**

_Since when did you get up this early? _

**Since Bruce set his alarm for six.**

Loki snorted, Tony really was not a morning person.

_Tough life you live._

**You bet it is. Want to grab a coffee?**

Loki replied without hesitation. _Sure, when and where?_

**I'll meet you outside your room in ten.**

_Okay._

Loki jumped out of bed and raced to the bathroom. He wouldn't have time for a shower, but he could at least try not to look like he'd just woken up, which of course he had. The dark rings under his eyes were as prominent as ever, so he tried to cover them up. Loki quickly checked the weather forecast on his phone. It seemed okay, so he got changed into normal clothes, grabbed a jumper and left to meet Tony.

Tony was leaning against the wall next to his door when Loki came out. Immediately, a grin lit up his face.

"Morning." Tony nodded, as he stood upright.

"Hey. " Loki said as he closed the door.

"Let's go then." Tony said, as he began to walk. Loki was confused, Tony had barely acknowledged that they were even together, he hadn't even touched Loki. As they walked out and down the street, Tony walked down an unoccupied alley.

"Uh, Tony? The coffee shop's back that way." Loki said, gesturing behind them.

"I know," Tony said, as he moved closer to Loki. He looked around. "But I wanted to do this." Tony grabbed Loki's hands and leaned towards him, before kissing him gently. Loki's lips parted as he kissed Tony back. This was one thing he'd never get tired of. They pulled apart.

"Why did you have to wait until we were here to do that?" Loki asked.

"I didn't think you'd want me to kiss you in front of the rest of the school."

"I don't think anyone was awake."

"Still, you never know." Tony shrugged.

"I don't care if people know, Tony." Loki claimed.

Tony was surprised. "Oh. Okay."

"What, did you think I'd want to sneak around?" Loki asked, with an air of amusement.

"Sort of, yeah." Tony admitted.

"Idiot." Loki muttered fondly.

"You know, I do have a name." Tony said, shaking his head.

"And I have a need for coffee. So let's go." Loki said.

Natasha walked into Loki's room. Loki and Tony had called asking if they could meet with her for lunch-knowing Tony, she assumed takeaway pizza- because they wanted to "talk to her about something". The only thing she could think of was them talking to her about Clint, and she really didn't feel like talking about him. She didn't know what else it could be, in fact she didn't think of anything else until she arrived at Loki's dorm and asked herself why Loki _and _Tony would want to talk to her. She heard voices coming from the room so she pressed and ear to the door to listen in.

"You sure about this?" Tony asked Loki.

"I told you, I don't care. Unless you do, of course." Loki replied.

"I don't. You know what you're going to say?"

"No idea. Where is she anyway?" Loki wondered.

Natasha took that as her cue to knock. Loki opened the door.

"Hey, Nat." Loki greeted her.

"Hey Loki," she saw Tony wave from behind Loki. "Hi Tony."

Natasha walked into the room, not missing the exchanged looks between Loki and Tony.

"Something you want to say, boys?" Nat loved putting them on the spot.

"Um, yeah sort of." Loki stuttered.

Nat huffed. "Before you start, I want you to know that absolutely nothing is going on between Barton and I,"

Loki and Tony looked confused. "What?"

She continued. "We're just friends, nothing more, nothing less, and that's how I like it."

"Nat, that's not what-"

"And I appreciate you two trying to set us up but I don't want a relationship with him."

"Natasha, can you be quiet for a second and let me finish?" Loki was speaking louder now, and sounded irritated.

"So thanks, but no thanks, I only like Barton as-"

"For god's sake, Natasha, we're dating!" Loki yelled.

Tony looked on amusedly as Natasha went silent.

"Oh." _Of course_, thought Natasha. She could be extremely stupid sometimes.

Tony walked over to Loki and slid his arm around his waist.

Natasha regained her composure. "Well, took you two long enough!"

"What?" The pair said in unison.

"I knew it from the start. You two hated each other so much, that it was obvious that it was only because of your love for each other."

"We're only dating-"

"Yeah none of this "love" business-"

"Sure, sure." Natasha remarked. "Now, where's this lunch I was promised?"

Tony sighed and opened the pizza box.

"I expect details about everything. Now." Natasha demanded, as she bit into a slice.

Loki sighed, sitting down next to Tony. "Well, it's all thanks to you and Clint, I guess. But this idiot here," Loki elbowed Tony. "Used one of the worst pick-up lines ever last night, to ask me out."

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Tony replied cheekily.

"Luckily for you." Loki shot back.

The story went on like this for a while, until Natasha had to go and make a phone call to her family.

As she shut the door Tony turned to Loki. "One down, six to go."

Loki smiled. "Coffee with Thor tomorrow. You joining us?"

Tony shook his head. "I have breakfast with Pepper."

Loki nodded. "When are you planning on telling Bruce, Clint and Steve?"

Tony shrugged. "I'll go tell Bruce now, I don't think he'll mind. Clint should be interesting though…"

Loki sighed "Tell me about it." He looked at his watch. "It's only 2pm, you wanna do something?"

Tony smirked and leant it towards Loki. "Such as…?"

Loki leaned in as well. "We could go for a walk, watch a movie, do some homework-"

Loki's whispering was cut off when Tony closed the distance between them with his lips.

"Stark…" Loki murmured against Tony's lips, as Tony tightened his grip on Loki's waist.

"Mmm?" Tony replied, breaking the kiss and looking into Loki's _freaking perfect _eyes.

Loki smiled at him, an actual smile, that didn't cross Loki's face often, except when he was with Tony. "You know, you don't have to treat me like glass."

"I know. Maybe I like to though."

Loki avoided Tony's eyes. He wasn't good at taking compliments from anyone, not just Tony.

"I can think of better things for that mouth to do than talking." Loki whispered, kissing Tony again, tugging on his hair, as Tony inwardly sighed at Loki's ignorance. Tony didn't want to make things move too quickly, and he was happy just kissing Loki for now. They were, however, interrupted when Steve's sister, Libby, and her friend Amora walked in on them. They sprung apart.

"I'm so sorry! We were just looking for Clint, he said he was going to give us archery lessons. We'll be going now." Libby gestured to the door, as Loki and Tony continued to look like a pair of deer caught in headlights. They were almost out the door, when their curiosity got the better of them, and they turned around.

"I don't want to intrude, but are you guys like together now or what?" Libby asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow at Tony.

Tony shrugged. "Define together…"

"As in a relationship together." Amora stated.

"Sort of, yeah."

Libby apologized again and left the room at the same time Amora asked. "How can someone be "sort of" in a relationship?"

Tony laughed, blatantly flirting.

Loki scowled and stood up. "Good question, Amora. I was just wondering the same thing. Why don't you stay here and talk to Stark about it? Clearly he'd love to talk to you." Loki glared at the two of them and stormed out of the room, pissed.

Libby basically sprinted into her brothers' room.

"Steve?" She shouted, scanning the room for him.

He walked out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around him. "Libby? What are you doing here? What's happened?"

Libby paused to catch her breath. "It's Tony, and Loki. The-they're dating!"

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Really, Libby? You shouldn't believe everything you hear, you know."

Libby punched his shoulder, surprisingly hard for a seventeen year old. "I saw it with my own eyes! It's so sweet."

Steve's eyes widened. "Wow, really? Good for them, I guess. I didn't see that coming."

"I know." Libby agreed. "Anyway, do you know where Clint is? He promised me archery lessons."

"Probably at the shooting range." Steve was still trying to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Thanks, bro. See you later." Libby blew him a kiss and left.

Amora sat down opposite Tony. "So, you're Tony Stark, right?"

"Yup, that's me." He replied.

"Aren't you the heir to Stark Industries or something?"

Tony nodded. "I am, but seeing as Mr. Stark himself his dead. "

"That's so cool. Well, not the dead parents part. I have no parents either."

"We should start a club." Tony grinned.

Amora smiled. "Yeah, we should. I'm sure everyone would just join for you."

Tony frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you are Tony Stark. One of the hottest guys in the school. And the richest."

"Who's the hottest?" Tony asked defensively.

She giggled. "Well, it's a tie between Thor and Loki. But I think you should take their places."

By now Tony was well aware they were flirting. "I'm honoured."

They were both quiet for a minute.

"So, Loki. He's quite the diva." Amora said.

"Yeah." Said Tony.

"Aren't you going to go after him? He is your boyfriend, right?" Amora questioned.

"I don't really know what we are. We're friends, really, that like to kiss. Purely platonic. And it's probably better to let him cool off first." Tony responded.

"Do you want me to wait with you?" Amora asked, leaning across the table.

"No thanks," Tony declined. "Maybe another time?"

"Sure, you know where to find me." She winked and left the room.

She didn't notice that Loki had been leaning against the door the entire time, listening to the whole conversation.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony, deciding he'd waited long enough, went to find Loki. He knew that if Loki was pissed, the first place he'd go would be the gym, or the field to go running, to blow off some steam.

Sure enough, there he was on the exercise bike, listening to his iPod, the music easily identifiable to Tony, despite him being a few metres away. The song was _Wide Awake, _by Katy Perry. Tony almost laughed at how well the song applied to their current situation. Tony strode in and tapped Loki, only to have him jump, turn around, glare at Tony and walk over to the rowing machine. Despite the fact that Loki was pissed at him, Tony couldn't help admiring his arm muscles. He really did come here a lot.

"Loki, I'm trying to talk to you!"

Loki sighed and turned off the machine, as well as yanking his headphones out of his ears and facing Tony.

"Why are you here, Stark?"

"I'm here to talk to you." Tony claimed.

"Why?" Loki asked, walking over to the gym lockers.

"Because I'm sorry." Tony said, following him.

"And why should I listen?" Loki inquired.

Tony sighed. Now Loki was just being difficult. "Because I'm your boyfriend, Loki."

"Are you? I though we were just friends, that liked to kiss. How else was it described? Oh yes, purely platonic." Loki spat as he walked out the door and into the pouring rain, making his way back to the dorms.

Tony froze. "You were listening in." He accused, still following Loki.

Loki huffed. "I don't trust Amora, or you, really. I guess my instincts were right after all."

Tony closed his eyes and ran his hand through his soon-to-be completely soaked hair. He was screwed.

"Look, I only said that to get her to shut up-"

"Don't lie to me, Stark. Am I just another one of Tony Stark's playthings? Another souvenir, or trophy?" He said turning around to face Tony. Try as he might, Loki couldn't stop the hurt and the jealously creeping into his snarl.

And Tony found Loki rather scary when he was angry, like an attractive lion, poised for a fight, with a feral snarl darkening his features, and making his eyes turn even darker than their usual fierce green. Usually Tony would've taken this into account before retaliating, but Loki's words hit home.

"You know damn well that's not true, and I've had to remind you that plenty of times. Every time I see you, you keep asking for confirmation that we're together." Tony put on a horrible high-pitched impersonation of Loki. "Oh, Tony, does this make us a couple? Is this okay with you? Do you like Amora more than me?" Loki was shaking with rage as Tony's voice went back to normal. "I consider you a hell of a lot more than a trophy, but if you can't see yourself that way, then you clearly can't see me for who I am with you either. And if you can't do that, then I don't see how we're supposed to be together." Tony snapped back harshly, awaiting Loki's probably terrifying response. It didn't come. They stood in the rain and silence for a while, until Loki finally spoke up.

"You can't even last a day in a proper relationship, can you?" His voice was cold and it made his accent even more prominent. Loki shook his head at Tony, and started running along the path, but not before Tony saw the tears, disguised as rain, spilling down his cheeks as he pushed past Tony.

He had just made Loki Laufeyson, one of the best people at hiding emotions, cry.

Loki made a beeline straight to Natasha's room. He had nowhere else to go, and no one to talk to, except her. He knocked feebly on the door.

His ex, Maria, opened the door. "Loki? What are you doing here? Wait, are you crying?" She said, starting to worry.

Loki ignored her. "I need to see Natasha, Please."

Maria nodded. "Sure, just a second." She turned around. "Oi! Nat! Get out here!"

Natasha walked out, took one look at Loki and pulled him into the room.

"Maria, could you give us a couple of hours alone? Go see Peggy or something." Natasha pushed her out of the room and slammed the door on her.

She turned around. "What happened? It was Tony, wasn't it?"

Loki nodded and wiped his eyes, determined to stop looking weak.

"Shit." Nat muttered, before muttering something in Russian that sounded something like an insult. She sat down, and pulled Loki down with her.

"You can talk to me." Natasha said gently.

Loki took a deep breath and shook his head. "It's not a big deal, Nat. I guess I just over-reacted." He tried to reassure her.

"Okay, that's fine, you don't have to say anything, but it's not just an over-reaction, Loki, you can't fool me."

"Tasha…" Loki sighed.

"Just saying what I think." She said, raising her hands in apology.

Loki sniffed. "Yeah, you do that a lot."

"You do too." She pointed out, earning a small smile.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Natasha spoke up again. "So what do you want to do?"

Loki sighed. "I don't know, but I certainly don't want to see him anytime soon."

Natasha nodded in understanding. They would both needed time to cool off and calm down. "Do you want to stay here for a couple of days? I'm sure Maria wouldn't mind staying with Clint for a bit."

Loki nodded. "If it's okay with Maria."

Natasha smiled. "Cool, you stay here and get comfortable, while I go get your stuff and talk to Maria, okay?"

"It is alright if I take a shower?" Loki asked, standing up with Nat.

"Feel free."

Natasha left, leaving Loki to reflect on life, whilst hot water surrounded him.

It had been five hours, and there was no word from Tony, or Loki, really. He hadn't spoken to Natasha except for when she persuaded him to arise from the dark confines of Maria's room to get a glass of water, in order for him to remain vaguely healthy. Aside from that, Natasha's dorm was silent, until at 11pm, there was a knock.

Natasha, after quickly checking that Loki was asleep, stalked to the door and flung it open, not planning on welcoming anyone that came visiting at 11pm.

As she had expected, a familiar brown-haired genius stood facing her.

She scowled at him, before attempting to slam the door on him. However, he was just as stubborn as her, and stopped the door from closing with his foot. They continued this another five times, until she finally relented and stepped outside, not wanting Loki to over-hear the conversation.

"Stark, you better have a damn good reason why I shouldn't kick your ass right here, right now." She said, glaring straight at him.

He had the nerve to look remorseful, before bringing his eyes to meet hers. As he did so, Natasha noticed that his eyes were slightly red, barely noticeable in the dark.

"I'm just here to talk." Tony raised his hands in surrender.

"Yes, because you talking to Loki never hurt him before." Natasha replied coldly, folding her arms across her chest.

"All I'm asking for is a second chance." Tony replied, almost pleading.

"That's a lot to ask for, seeing as we're talking about Loki here. You really think he's going to forgive you just like that?"

"God, Nat, you're acting like I beat him up or something. And I never said anything about him forgiving me, just talking to him." He tried to reassure her.

She took a step closer, backing Tony up against the wall. "Look," She snarled, "I don't know what you said to him, all I know is that my best friend came running to me in tears this afternoon, because of something you said to him. Loki _never _cries. So I'm saying this in his best interests," She paused for dramatic effect her voice still low. "Stay the _fuck _away from him."

Tony narrowed his eyes. Yes, Natasha was terrifying when she was angry, and yes, he knew she was _sort of_ right, but _no one _was going to tell him how to run his relationship.

"Look, _Romanov_" He spat. "That conversation was between him and I. Like you said, you don't know what happened, therefore you can't tell me how to deal with it. I know you love Loki, but you need to let him deal with his own problems, not go beat up everyone that makes him even slightly unhappy, okay?" He finished, his eyes searching hers, praying that she wouldn't injure him _too _badly.

"I'm not the one who pretty much broke his heart." She retorted, earning glare from Tony.

"If you bothered to ask what happened, you mind realize that his wasn't the only one." Tony replied, before marching back to his room, planning to drink away his problems again.

The next week passed awkwardly. Neither of the boys would talk to one another, and barely let anyone talk to them.

It was ridiculous, thought Tony, that even though they hadn't even been together for 24 hours, he still missed Loki. Even as just a friend. Bruce was intelligent, yeah, but Loki added wit into the conversation, as well as intellect. So Tony locked himself in his room all week, give or take a few Physics and Weapon Development classes, and proceeded to work on an AI of his own.

Loki, was the opposite. He threw himself into Defence, a great way to take out his anger, and spent his time distracting himself from Tony. Seeing as Natasha was the only one that actually knew they were together, besides Amora and Libby, it wasn't too hard to convince others that he was okay. That was until Fandral came along. Fandral was a friend of Thor's, and he was hot. He was the opposite of Loki, with blonde hair and tanned skin, and a very happy and sociable person. He had just moved from California, and didn't know many people in New York. Loki, being the nice person he was, made it is duty to make Fandral feel as welcome as possible.

By the time the group was onto dessert, Fandral and Loki were sitting as close to each other as possible, their legs touching and hands brushing on the table.

So of course, it was a shock when Tony joined them.

"Tony, hey!" Steve greeted warmly. Loki stiffened and refused to look at him, whereas Natasha glared at him with as much hatred as she could. Tony sat down opposite Loki, and frowned when he saw Fandral.

"Who're you?" He asked, not as politely as he probably could've.

"This is Fandral, he just moved here from California." Loki introduced, before Fandral could answer.

"Thrilling." Tony replied drily.

"So you must be Tony, then?" Fandral asked politely.

"Yeah. What subjects do you take?"

Loki butted in again. "He takes History, and he's really good at it."

Fandral smiled. "No I'm not, you exaggerate." He responded modestly.

"Yes you are, stop being so modest. You're too nice Fandral, unlike some other people I know." Loki glanced at Tony for a second.

"Hey, don't be so rude about Natasha!" Clint interjected, causing everyone to laugh and return back to their usual chatter that had paused when Tony entered.

"So, Loki, seeing anyone?" Fandral tried to ask innocently.

"No, not anymore." Loki replied, knowing Tony could hear him. "Why do you ask?

"I, uh, wanted to know if you wanted to go get a drink? Just us, of course."

Loki smiled. "Sure! What are we waiting for?"

Fandral grinned back. "Cool. I'll just go grab my wallet." He said as stood up.

Throughout this, Tony felt sickened. This was low, even for Loki. Did he have to say that right in front of him? Yeah, he knew Loki could hold a grudge, but two could play at that game.

Tony pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found Amora's name. He glanced at Loki before pressing the green call button.

She answered after two rings. "Hello?"

"Hey, Amora. This is Tony." Tony saw Loki tense and glare at him as je said her name.

"Tony! Hey!" She responded, too enthusiastically for Tony's liking.

"Sorry about the short notice, but would you like to go and get a drink now?" He asked.

"Omigod sure! Meet me outside my room in ten, okay?"

"See you then." He said, before hanging up.

Tony pulled his jacket on as Fandral came back to the table and stood up, before smirking at Loki's pained face and leaving.

Well, you know what they say. All's fair in love and war.


	10. Chapter 10

Loki tried to mask his anger at the bar, but wasn't very successful.

"Hey, Loki? You've kind of been glaring at that cabinet for the past five minutes." Fandral said timidly.

"What? Oh, sorry. So, er why did you move to New York?" Loki asked, attempting to restart the conversation.

"I don't know, I guess I just wanted a change in scenery. Plus, I got into this school, and how could I say no?" Fandral grinned.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm from Chicago, and I feel the same way."

"I've never been there. What's it like?"

"Windy." Loki answered, taking a sip of his drink.

Fandral laughed, a bit too enthusiastically, and rested his hand on Loki's thigh. Loki wasn't too comfortable at the speed in which things were going, but he wanted, no, _needed_, to forget about Tony, so he just smiled.

Amora emerged wearing a black mini skirt, and a black blouse. The skirt was really short, which usually would've made Tony drool, but this time it only made him annoyed.

"Hey, Tony," Amora smiled.

"Amora, nice to see you again."

"I didn't think I would see you again, after the problem with your boyfriend." Amora remarked as they made their way to the campus bar, neither wanting to bother to drive anywhere.

Tony tensed at the last word. "Don't worry, that was just a one night thing." He lied.

Amora took Tony's hand. "Glad to hear." She whispered into his ear.

Throughout the evening, Fandral had been getting more handsy, probably due to the amount he was drinking. He'd made several suggestions to head back to Loki's room, all of which had been turned down. However, when Loki saw Amora and Tony enter, he abruptly stood up and pulled Fandral along with him, causing Tony to notice them and frown.

Loki decided that now, whatever happened with Fandral, he was going to go along with it, probably not his smartest idea, seeing as he'd noticed the condom in Fandral's wallet. But it wasn't as if Tony would behave any differently, and Loki had to remind himself of this as Fandral pushed him against the wall and attacked his mouth.

Amora was having the time of her life. She'd managed to get sufficiently drunk, and was partying hardcore. Tony cringed as she begun to dance, seeing as it was a _bar _and not a club.

"Amora?" He said, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Tony! Dance with me!" She said, starting to grind against him.

"Look, I think we should get you back to your dorm." He suggested.

She pouted at him. "You're ruining my fun."

Tony sighed, before he was interrupted by some random guy.

"Let her stay, she's entertaining us." The guy grinned, and proceeded to dance with Amora. Tony had given up by that point and just walked out, after telling Amora not to expect to go out with him again. It wasn't that she'd been to drunk, it was the fact that she wasn't Loki.

On this note, Tony decided that he had to talk to Loki, screw everything Natasha said, because he'd also lost a friend, not just a boyfriend.

As he approached Loki's door, he took a deep breath and knocked, assuming that Fandral had already left.

A few moments later, a shirtless Loki answered the door. Needless to say, it was sufficiently distracting for Tony.

"Stark? Stop staring, its weird." Loki greeted.

"I wasn't- Anyway, I thought I should come here and-" Tony was cut off when another person, wearing just a sheet walked out of Loki's bedroom.

"Loki, who's that- Ah, Tony, hey!" Fandral greeted warmly.

Loki watched as Tony's face fell, and his eyes darkened, before turning to Fandral. "Just a moment." He said, before shutting the door and standing outside with Tony.

Tony was furious. "You slept with _him_?" He whispered angrily.

"You slept with her?" Loki retorted, in reference to Amora.

"No, I didn't. I came straight from the bar to here, to apologize, only to have you already moved on from me."

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you." Loki spat. "It's usually the other way around, in case you hadn't noticed."

Tony glared at him, trying to avoid looking at his torso. "I had, but the time where it really mattered, I didn't."

"You didn't even talk to me, it's a bit too late for an apology." Loki said, seething.

"I tried! Your darling best friend wouldn't let me." Tony exclaimed.

"Don't bring Nat into this." Loki said sharply.

"At least I didn't bring Fandral in." Tony said.

"Why are you here? Aside from telling me how to live my life." Loki glared.

"I came to- actually, it doesn't matter any more. I hope you're happy with yourself." Tony said, walking away.

"You know what they say, Stark." Loki shouted after him, "If you love something, set it free."

Tony turned around with a slightly evil smirk. "To do that, Loki, I would've had to have loved you in the first place."

Loki sent him a pained look, before going back into his room.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony stormed into his room a slammed the door shut, ignoring shouts from Bruce, and punched the wall, something he didn't do often.

Bruce ran into Tony's room, he'd heard the door slam, only to find Tony collapsed on the bed clutching his bloody hand.

"Tony? Shit, what did you do?" Bruce asked, concerned for the well-being of his friend. Tony had locked himself in his room for the past week, refusing to speak to anyone. Bruce suspected it had something to do with Loki, as both had been acting oddly lately.

Tony groaned and looked up. "I punched a wall."

Bruce sighed exasperatedly. "Why, Tony, would you punch a wall?"

"I was angry." Tony admitted.

"Look, you need to get that fixed. If you've broken something, and it doesn't heal properly, you'll be in agony." Bruce said, his medical skills kicking in.

"Can't you fix it?" Tony whined. He hated trips to the hospital.

"I can see if it's broken. If it's not, I'll go get some ice and wrap it up. If it is, I'm taking you to the campus hospital. Deal?"

"Deal." Tony repeated, sitting up and allowing Bruce to tend to his hand. He pressed down on bone joints, pleased to see that nothing was broken, probably just badly bruised.

"Well, nothing's broken. I'll go get some ice and I'll be back in a minute." Bruce promised, leaving the dorm.

As he was walking back from the first-aid room, he ran into Natasha, who was walking back from the gym.

"Oh, hey Bruce. Did you do something to yourself?" She asked, gesturing at the bandage and ice in his hand.

"Hey Nat. I'm fine, Tony's bruised his hand." He said in a nonchalant tone.

Natasha laughed. "How did he do that?"

"He punched a wall." Bruce smiled.

Natasha stopped laughing. "Did he say why?" She asked, walking back with Bruce.

He shrugged. "He said it was because he was angry."

He watched as Natasha muttered something along the lines of "What did he say now".

"What did you say?" He asked inquisitively.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. I hope you don't mind if I go see Tony now." She said, more of a statement than a question.

"Free country." He shrugged in response, before handing her the ice and the bandage and opening the door for her.

"Took you long enough." Tony grumbled as he heard the door open, assuming it was his room mate entering.

"Speaking of time, have you found any to apologize to Loki in?" Natasha asked, rolling her eyes as Tony threw a pillow at her.

"What do you want, Romanov?" He sighed, placing the ice on his knuckles.

"I want to make things right between us. I shouldn't have made you leave or assumed that it was all your fault." She said.

Tony smirked half-heartedly. "Is this an apology from Miss Romanov?"

Natasha whacked his uninjured arm. "Mention it again and it won't be. So what's happened since I saw you last?"

Tony sighed, and looked slightly ashamed. "I went to talk to him."

"And…?" Natasha prompted.

"It didn't end well." Tony admitted, ducking his head.

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "What did you say, Stark?"

He took a deep breath. "I _may_ have told him that I never had feelings for him..."

Natasha now saw why Tony had punched a wall. "Dammit Stark, why would you say that? He's insecure enough as it is!"

"What the hell was I supposed to say?" He cried out.

Natasha sighed. "The truth."

"What? Despite the fact we were only together for 24 hours, I really, really miss you and I didn't mean anything that I said, I want you back and right now I really want to kiss you? Was I supposed to say that?" Tony burst out.

Natasha smiled softly, it wasn't often that Tony discussed his feelings. "What stopped you? Everything would've been fixed if you said that, and you know it."

Tony huffed. "There was an…issue."

"Enlighten me."

"He…He wasn't very nice about the way he said things."

"God, Stark, you're not in elementary! And what was that with Amora? Were you hoping to make him jealous?" Natasha said, getting tired of Tony's attitude.

"Sort of…"

"But Amora? Really, Tony?" Natasha said skeptically.

Tony moved away from her. "To be fair, he slept with another man."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "He _what?_"

"That Fandral guy. I walked in on them just before."

"Is that why you punched the wall? Natasha said, pointing at the dent in his room.

"One of the reasons." Tony admitted.

Natasha sat down next to him on his bed. "Tony, you need to listen to me. Like I said, I don't know what happened between you two that caused this rift, but if you want to fix it, you need to let him come to you, not the other way round. I understand your feelings for Loki, and I know they're stronger than you're willing to admit. So please, for yours and his sake, let him come to you."

It had been three days since he slept with Fandral, and Loki was still regretting it. It sounded cliché- but everything reminded him of Tony. He'd go sit in their usual spot at lunch, only to be reminded that there was no one to sit with. Their usual study sessions were no longer on, for obvious reasons, and Loki found it harder to do his homework, with no one to suggest ideas to him.

The worst part, was in second-year training. All second year students were randomly put into groups once a month to practice their Defence skills with others. This month, when the training was on, Loki was close to losing, after making a slight mistake. He'd underestimated his partner, and only just managed to roll away from him before any lasting damage to his pride was done. As he stood up, he waited for some small quip from Tony, telling him how ridiculous he looked doing a certain move, or how he must me getting old to be forgetting how to duck.

These comments never came.

This was the start of everything, the temporary depression Loki sunk into, and the end of his whatever-it-was with Fandral.

The last part, happened in the library, Loki's favourite place in the school. Natasha wasn't talking to him, nor was Tony, and he didn't really have many other friends. As he was reading Pride and Prejudice, a pair of hands obscured his vision.

"Hey beautiful," Fandral purred, after Loki shoved his hands away. He hated people coming up behind him, especially in one of his sacred places. A voice in his head nagged at him; _Tony wouldn't do that._

Loki tried to ignore it.

"Fandral." He nodded politely.

Fandral bent down to try and kiss him, but Loki turned away.

"What's wrong, baby?" Fandral cooed, repulsing Loki.

"I just want to be alone, alright?" Loki said, turning away from him.

"We can be alone together…" Fandral hinted.

"No." Loki said firmly. "Actually, I think it's better if we aren't together any more." Yes, it was harsh, but Loki was sick of his company.

Fandral frowned. "What do you mean?" He said, backing Loki up against a bookshelf.

"You heard me." Loki said, standing his ground.

"Who are you leaving me for?" Fandral growled.

"Has it really not occurred to you that maybe I don't like you?" Loki sassed back, ignoring the danger alerts his brain was telling him.

"I can make you like me." Fandral smirked, closing the distance. Loki pushed him off.

"Don't touch me again." He said, attempting to push past him.

"But you like me touching you though, don't you pretty boy?" Fandral snarled, placing a hand on Loki's waist and attempting to pull his shirt off. Loki could escape, yes, but if he did, who was to stop Fandral coming after him again, or worse, Tony?

"I am warning you, get off me! I will scream." Loki warned.

Fandral laughed. "But there's no one here to listen."

Loki looked around the library, as Fandral did extremely inappropriate things to his body. It was 6pm, and the library was almost empty as everyone was leaving for dinner. No one would be around. He was close to relenting, and letting Fandral all but _rape _him, when out of nowhere, an arm twisted around Fandral's neck, and pulled him away from Loki. Loki seized this opportunity, and kneed him in the stomach, causing him to double over, and Loki swept his feet from under him, leaving him lying on the floor in a ball. Loki looked up to see who his savior was.

It was Natasha, who looked ready to murder Fandral. She placed her foot on the nape of his neck, and ground into it, making him cry out in pain.

"Stay the hell away from us." She snarled, before kicking him in the temple, almost knocking him out. "You have two options. Leave now, and never come back, and we'll let you go without consequences. Or I can make you leave. You'll find I can be _very _persuasive." She growled.

"I-I'll go." He stammered.

"Thought so." Natasha smiled, before spitting on him and leaving. Loki followed suit and stood on him as he walked out.

"Never take advantage of me again. I promise you, you will regret it." Loki promised.


	12. Chapter 12

"Tasha!" Loki called out, after staggering out of the library.

She turned around. "You. With me, now." She said, taking his arm and dragging him along with her.

"Where are you taking me?" Loki asked, too tired to even put up a struggle.

"If I told you, you'd leave." She left it at that.

In a few seconds, their destination became clear. The hospital.

"Nat…" Loki tried to protest.

Natasha didn't respond, as she was too busy holding Loki up and talking to the receptionist to care. Almost immediately, several nurses came hurrying out to carry Loki into a ward, as he was now struggling to stand up. Natasha hurried after him, refusing to leave his side.

Natasha had seen most of what had happened, she didn't think anything was wrong until Loki had tried pushing Fandral away. She now realized how much strength it must've taken for Loki to get him on the floor. She saw Fandral deliver a sharp blow to Loki's stomach, and she now realized how dangerous that could've been. If Fandral had hit him hard enough, he could've ruptured his spleen or split a kidney, which was an entirely too possible consequence.

"Excuse me, miss, but I'm afraid you'll have to get out of the way." One of the young doctors addressed her as he stabbed Loki with some sort of needle.

Natasha nodded, before turning around and heading back to wait in the waiting room.

She didn't know what to do! She didn't think it would be a great idea to get Tony involved, at least not until Loki asked for him, which she suspected he would. She couldn't call Clint, it would only add to the rumours that they were dating. But she refused to leave. Loki was her best friend, and she didn't give crap about what happened to her grades, as long as he was okay.

After about an hour of waiting in the noisy main room, one of the doctors entered, and asked for a Natasha. She stood up immediately, and followed him into his office.

"Please, take a seat." He asked, gesturing at one of the couches.

She sat down anxiously. "Will he be okay?" She asked.

The doctor sighed. "I hope so. Whatever hit him in the stomach, had a lot of force behind it, enough force to cause internal bleeding."

Natasha clapped a hand to her mouth, before the doctor continued. "Fortunately, his aorta was unaffected, but the result is still pretty bad. The nurses are currently prepping him for emergency surgery, where we will after stitch up the site of the injury." He paused before continuing. "Unfortunately, if we are unsuccessful, or if we are too late, he could die of blood loss."

That was it. Natasha was now crying. The doctor looked at her sadly. "I'm afraid I have to go now. You can feel free to stay until we have his results, but I don't know when that will be." The doctor gingerly patted her on the back before helping her back up and escorting her back into the waiting room.

**Three hours later**

By now, Natasha was the only one left in the waiting room. It was 11pm now, and most of campus would be back in their rooms. Natasha was close to assuming the worse, thinking that if he was okay that would've told her by now. Luckily, her fear was temporarily paused when the doctor emerged again, looking tired, but not too upset.

She sat up anxiously. "How is he?"

The doctor gave her a small smile. "The good news is that we've managed to seal up the blood vessels that were leaking, so he's now in a stable condition, and we've put him into a temporarily induced coma, allowing him to recover without being conscious for the pain. However," Natasha stiffened. "It's still too early to be positive of the extent of his trauma. We've done an exploratory laparotomy on him, but we are yet to know whether he'll need a thoracotomy. Once he awakens, we'll allow visitors in to see him. We don't often do this, but you're welcome to stay in one of our family wards, and we'll wake you up if there is any change."

Natasha nodded, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her best friend could die. The doctor left, leaving one of the nurses to usher her to a bed.

When she woke up the next morning, Natasha was surprised that she had slept at all. She got changed into a change of clothes that she had conveniently been carrying when she found Loki, and headed back into the waiting room. She was then informed that her lecturers had been notified that she would not be in her classes that day.

It wasn't until 11am that Loki woke up. Natasha, upon hearing the news, all but sprinted into his private room to see him, only to almost run back out. He was connected up to about seven different machines, and he was doused in sweat. The sheet were pulled back, revealing dark purple and red marks staining his usually pale as snow complexion. His eyes were open a fraction, and he attempted to smile as he saw Natasha walk in.

"Nat…" He croaked, as she sat down next to him.

"Hey, Lokes." She said, and attempted to smile.

"Nat…They said I only have a thirty percent chance…" He trailed off, bringing tears to Natasha's eyes.

She nodded. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

Loki closed his eyes again. "Just…Get Tony. Please. If I'm gonna die, let me die knowing that he cares. Get Thor too, and anyone else who you think should be here." He pleaded, his eyelids fluttering.

Natasha nodded again, standing up and preparing to leave.

"Natasha?" Loki asked feebly again.

"Mm?" Nat responded, turning back around.

"I love you." Loki said simply.

Nat ran out before he could see her crying.

Tony was lounging on the couch when there was a sharp knock at the door. He quickly hopped up, hoping it was Loki. To his surprise, it was Natasha.

"Nat? What are you doing here?..." His voice trailed off as he saw her eyes shining with tears.

"Come with me. Please." She managed to choke out. Tony watched her, fearfully, as she ran to the room next door and said the same thing to Thor. Together, the three of them rushed to the other side of campus, Tony and Thor clueless about what was going on.

Things were made slightly clearer as they approached the hospital, seeing as the one person they all had in common was Loki.

Tony felt his chest constrict as they walked up to the main desk, and saw the receptionist allow them in with no hesitation. Natasha stopped when they reached a private room, turning to face the two of them.

"Yesterday, Loki was…injured. His injury caused severe internal bleeding, and although they've managed to stabilize him, there's only a thirty percent, and decreasing, chance that he won't make it." Her voice broke on the last sentence. "Just…prepare yourselves. He doesn't look too good, and you're only here because he asked for you."

She stopped, and gestured for Thor to go in first.

Tony sank down against the opposite wall, almost unable to breathe. Wave after wave of depression shook him, as he sobbed into his arms. The world felt so tight now, so dark and empty. It was sudden, and Tony didn't know what to say. He wasn't prepared to lose him, not before they made things right.

Natasha sat down next to him, and together they held each other, both praying for Loki to be okay.

Thor eventually emerged, his eyes red and puffy, which was scary to see. Thor, who was always so happy and cheerful, was an emotional wreck.

Tony stood up and took a deep breath, and turned the doorknob, bracing himself for the worst. Last time he was in a hospital, it was to identify his parent's bodies.

He stepped inside and closed the doors, and resisted the urge to cry as he saw Loki lying down. He was way too pale, and his body was patterned with blotches.

Loki looked up as he walked in. "I hope you'd come." He murmured.

"Why wouldn't I?" Tony said, sitting himself down on the visitors seat.

"Thought you hated me." Loki replied.

"Nah. That's impossible." Tony smiled half-heartedly. "I may have disliked you immensely at one point, but hate? Never."

Loki sighed. "Reassuring, Stark."

"So where's your boyfriend? Shouldn't he be here, instead of me?" Tony questioned.

Loki frowned. "He's the reason I'm in here. I thought Natasha told you…" He trailed off, after seeing the look of rage cross Tony's face.

"He _what_?" Tony fumed.

"Get Nat to explain, that's not the point…"

"Yes, Loki, it is! You think I'm just gonna let you get beaten up, and act like I'm fine with it?"

"Well, I'm not pressing charges, so I don't see why you want to." Loki interjected.

"Loki, when are you gonna stop letting people run your life?" Tony said without thinking.

Loki's face hardened. "You really do think I'm helpless, don't you?" Loki accused.

"That's not what I meant…" Tony muttered.

"That's _exactly _what you meant." Loki glared at him, pushing himself up so that he was sitting. "I know what I did was wrong, I know I was an idiot, and I bought you here so that I could apologize to you. But now I remember why I was so angry in the first place. I can hold my own, you know, so don't underestimate-" Loki choked off, starting to cough up blood, and going even paler, his hands gripping the sheets in pain.

Instantly, Tony reached up and pressed the red call button, his heart pounding as Loki's heart monitor beeped much slowly than before. The doctors came rushing in, all oblivious to Tony's presence. He couldn't move, he was frozen in the spot, too scared and panicked to budge.

The room was a blur of blue and white, as the nurses began preparing him for emergency surgery. It turned out that some of the leaked blood had made it's way into the area around his heart and lungs, causing his heart to be delayed, close to stopping.

The gloves went on, and surgery knives were passed around, as Loki's heartbeat went down to thirty beats per minute, causing him to lapse into unconsciousness. The surgeons cut carefully into his chest and began to remove the excess blood that was damaging his breathing.

"Twenty beats" One of the doctors called out.

A minute later he called out ten beats.

Tony pushed forward, much to the surprise of the surgeons.

"Loki," He growled, taking his hand, "Don't you _dare_ die on me. I need you. Please. I'm so, so sorry. I should've trusted you, and I didn't mean what I said. I'm in love with you, and it scares me. So please. Wake up. For me." He begged, until one of the nurses pushed him back.

As Tony was close to collapsing in devastation, and the surgery team was awaiting in silence for a change, a small beep was heard in the background. A few seconds later, another beep was heard.

"Back up to thirty!" The same doctor called out.

The beeping continued, getting more regular every time, by the time Tony was forced to leave, it was back up to 55.

As he appeared from the room, Natasha scrambled back up to her feet.

"We saw them rush in…Is he okay?" She asked fearfully.

Tony nodded slowly. "It was…bad. He got down to ten beats a minute, but now it's back to normal. But they've now figured out the reason why he was staying stable, and they've fixed it, so he's got a much higher chance now." He smiled, as Natasha wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight. Soon, Thor was joining in, and they were all hugging each other in relief.

"Er, Mr. Stark?" The surgeon called out.

Tony stood up. It had been four hours since Loki's surgery, and Natasha and Thor had already been in to see him. "That's me." He said.

"You can see him now." The man said, pointing towards Loki's room. Tony was nervous, seeing as last time he saw him, they'd gotten in another argument, and Loki had collapsed.

Tony walked into his room, and was pleased to see him sitting up, with a bit more colour in his cheeks, and less colour on his chest.

"You're back." Loki stated.

Tony smiled. "Why would I leave?" He replied.

He sat down, and waited for Loki to say something back. But when he met Loki's eyes, he was staring at him curiously.

"What? Is it my hair?" Tony joked.

"Shut up. When I was in surgery, were you present?" Loki asked.

"Yeah… How did you know?" Tony said, surprised.

"I thought I heard your voice." Loki said.

"Yeah? What did I say?" Tony tried to ask nonchalantly, his hearting pounding.

"You told me not to die. And that you were sorry, and-and that you were in love…with me." Loki said shyly.

"Yeah, you heard correctly." Tony admitted.

"I'm going to ask you something, and you have to promise to be honest, okay?" Loki said, looking up sharply.

Tony nodded.

"Did you say that just because I was dying?"

"Of course not." Tony said, annoyed that he'd think that.

"Then say it again. Right now." Loki demanded.

"Um. Okay then." Tony took a deep breath. "Loki, I know what I said probably wasn't the nicest thing for me to say, but I'm sorry. And I only said because I think I'm-" He gulped. "In love with you. And that scares me."

When he finished, Loki was looking away.

"What, so you get me to say that then ignore me?" Tony asked.

"I'm trying to think of how to respond." Loki replied indignantly.

"Well, when you figure it out, you know where I am." Tony spat, standing up.

"Wait!" Loki cried out, grabbing onto Tony's sleeve. "I just don't get it."

Tony paused, and looked at him. "What don't you get?"

"You all but hated me a few days ago, and now you're in love with me?" Loki said.

"Yeah, well, I watched you almost die. That changed things a bit." Tony snapped at him.

Loki cringed. "I didn't mean to…"

Tony snorted. "Yeah, you never intend to do anything, but it happens anyway."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I don't do feelings, and half the time I'm way too insecure to even consider a relationship, let alone be in one, and you know that." Loki explained desperately.

"But that's the thing about us, Loki, we're either going to be perfect together, or toxic to each other. We either love each other, or hate each other. There's no in between. And right now, I know what one we are. But I need you to make your decision. Toxic, or intoxicating?" Tony ranted.

Loki sighed "Stark-"

"No. No buts. You won't be seeing me again, unless you come to terms with how you feel. You know where my room is." Tony nodded then quickly walked off, resisting the urge to stay.


	13. Chapter 13

**A month later**

Natasha strode up to the door of Tony's room, and knocked on it twice before standing back and waiting for it to open.

Tony flung it open, annoyed that he'd been interrupted from inventing another life-changing gadget. He brightened up slightly, when he saw who it was.

"Natasha, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Tony greeted warmly. He hadn't had much time for socializing, being busy with exams and all, but now that they were over, he was looking forward to just relaxing, although that meant more time to think of Loki.

Nat shrugged. "Just waking past and I thought I'd say hi. You gonna invite me in?"

Tony opened the door wider. "Yeah, sure. Want a drink?' He asked.

"Vodka and soda, please." She responded, sitting herself down on the couch.

Tony rolled his eyes. "The obvious choice."

She smirked. "You seem happy."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Exams are over, and I'm almost certain I aced them." He said, pouring the drink.

"What's this almost I hear?" Natasha teased, taking the drink from him.

Tony raised his shoulders. "Got to at least try to be modest."

Now it was Natasha's turn to roll her eyes.

"So how about you? How were your exams?" Tony asked.

"I think I did pretty well, no major mistakes that I can think of." She shrugged.

Tony made the most of a lapse in the conversation. "So, heard from dear old Laufeyson lately?"

She shook her head. "Not since he got back from recovering in Chicago."

Tony raised an eyebrow. Loki had been sent home to recover, so that he wouldn't be distracted. He'd arrived back to school just before his exams, so it wasn't surprising that he hadn't been seen, but Tony had at least expected Natasha to have spoken to him.

"Has he said anything to you about our last conversation?" Tony tried to ask casually, as he sat across from Natasha.

She though carefully before replying. "I got the general idea. Love me or hate me, right?"

Tony nodded. "Basically."

"Are you still waiting for him?" Natasha asked curiously.

He sighed. "I'm close to giving up. I didn't really expect anything else, I suppose. But there's always hope, no matter how much of a stubborn ass he is."

Natasha smiled softly. "Believe me, I know. Anyway, speaking of stubborn asses, I promised Barton I'd help him study, so I better be going." She said, standing up and preparing to leave.

"Of course, Clint takes priority." Tony teased with a smirk.

Natasha resisted the urge to hit him. "Shut up, Stark. See you later." She blew him a kiss and left, allowing him to get back to work.

It was 7pm, and Tony was working rather intently on his AI, when someone knocked on the door for the second time that day. Tony paused his music as he yelled out to his roommate.

"Bruce, can you get that?"

There was a muffled sigh as Bruce stood up and trudged to the door, throwing it open with a bored expression on his face.

"Loki? How are you feeling?" Bruce exclaimed, all boredom forgotten once seeing him.

"Better, thanks." Loki peered over his shoulder. "Is your roommate in?" He inquired.

Bruce nodded. "Yeah, he's in his room-"

"I do not intend to offend you, Banner, but I need to talk to him urgently and in private." Loki cut off as gently as he could.

Bruce looked shocked. "Um, okay. Yeah, I'll just go get him…" He trailed off, leaving to go and get Tony, whilst leaving Loki in the snow.

"Tony? Someone's at the door for you." He shouted over the music.

Tony paused the song, halfway through _Helena _by My Chemical Romance, and sighed irritably as he opened his bedroom door.

When Bruce returned, saying that Tony would be out in a moment, he scooted past Loki and outside, muttering that he'd be back later.

Tony emerged, failing to hide his surprise at seeing Loki. Loki was shivering, as the temperature was about three degrees outside.

"You came." Tony said stupidly.

"Obviously. May I come in? It's freezing out here." Loki replied slightly irritably.

Tony nodded, dumbstruck. He'd lost all hope that he'd see Loki again, yet here he was, at his door.

Loki walked inside and Tony shut the door behind him. "Um, feel free to sit down, if you want." Tony offered.

Loki accepted and sat down on one of the couches, Tony following suit.

"I take it you weren't expecting me then, judging by your attitude." Loki said, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly.

"Yeah, well can you blame me? You were on your deathbed, and you were arguing with me, Loki. Doesn't exactly reassure me, you know." Tony said with his voice raising.

"I know, I know. I'm not exactly-"

"And then there was Fandral, and no Loki, I don't think your helpless, believe me, I've seen you in your Defence class, but I was worried about you, okay? Seeing you almost die gave me the push I needed, it kind of scared me into my feelings. But you just shot me down, as usual. I tell you that I'm _in love _with you, and you just turn away, so forgive me for not expecting to see you. Because this, how I feel about you, terrifies me. And it scares me even more to know that I could lose you, just because neither of us will admit our feelings. But here I am, admitting mine." Tony ranted breathlessly, startling both Loki and himself.

Loki took a deep breath. It was now or never, really. And quite frankly, he didn't want to lose Tony either, he never had.

"I- it's not just you it scares... " Loki began quietly. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly the warm fuzzy feelings type." He grinned sheepishly. "I just don't know how to do this... I suppose we'll muddle through together."

Tony took a sharp intake of breath. "So what are you saying?"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…" Loki looked at him, his eyes finally meeting the chocolate brown ones he loved. "That, er, I'm in love with you too. And I'm sorry. And I missed you. And right now," He laughed weakly, "I really, really want to kiss you." Loki confessed.

Tony just continued to stare at him, shocked and happy at the same time. So Loki liked him back, which was good, right? Then how come he didn't know what to do now?

Loki smiled weakly. "I understand if you want to think for a bit. I'll leave you to your thoughts." He said, jumping up and walking to the door.

Tony stood up and followed him to the door, before muttering, "No."

Loki turned around. "What did you say?"

"I said no. I don't want you to leave." Tony continued.

Loki frowned. "Then what do you want? He asked, leaning against the door.

"To do this." Tony whispered, before leaning forward and pressing his lips to Loki's gently, with Loki eagerly reciprocating. Both men kissed back hungrily, it had been far too long. Loki's hand was gripping the back of Tony's neck, and Tony was holding him firmly by the waist. They both pulled apart, both of them breathless and flushed.

"So we're good?" Tony panted.

Loki rolled his eyes and nodded, before guiding Tony's mouth to his.

When they finally broke apart for good, both boys were grinning widely.

"You doing anything later?" Tony murmured, nudging Loki's cheek with his nose.

"Nope."

"You want to stay with me?" Tony offered, but when seeing the look of panic cross Loki's face for an instant, he added, "Purely platonically, I promise."

Loki smiled, and kissed him again.

_Well, _thought Tony, _maybe not completely platonic._


	14. Chapter 14

The rest of their evening was spent lying together on Tony's bed and watching _Fight Club, _until one of them fell asleep. Tony was reclining against the headboard and Loki was curled up on his side, his head resting on Tony's chest.

Tony had been so engrossed in both watching the movie and running his fingers through Loki's hair, that he hadn't realized that Loki had fallen asleep on him, until the movie ended, when Loki didn't move or speak. Tony smiled softly, before shutting his laptop and sliding it under the bed. He didn't want to move, in fear of waking Loki, so he just pulled the duvet over the two of them and put an arm around Loki, holding him in place as he closed his eyes.

For the second time in 24 hours, Natasha found herself at Tony and Bruce's door, having left her jacket there the previous night. She couldn't be bothered knocking, and didn't want to disrupt Bruce, so she used her expert espionage skills to pick the lock with a paperclip.

To her surprise, the dorm was silent, neither Bruce or Tony were up, and both doors were closed. Not sure whether they were sleeping, out or just doing something quietly, she opened Tony's door slightly, smiling to herself when she saw Loki and Tony snuggled up together.

Unable to resist taking a photo of them, she whipped out her phone and opened up the camera, accidentally leaving the sound and flash on, causing Tony and Loki to wake up with a jolt.

Tony sat up straight, flinging the covers off in the process and resulting in Loki falling backwards and hitting his head on the wall, Tony's arm no longer supporting him.

Loki yelped in protest, rubbing his head as he sat up. Tony, upon seeing it was Natasha, relaxed and rubbed his eyes.

"Don't let me interrupt you two, I was just getting my jacket." She smirked.

"Nothing happened, Nat. We just fell asleep watching a movie, that's all." Loki muttered.

"Yeah, that's what Steve said to me when I walked in on them. Peggy told me otherwise." She said with a grin.

Tony's eyes widened. "Steve and Peggy? What? No… Steve doesn't even know what sex is… It's too early in the morning to comprehend this, I need coffee." Tony said, both confused and stunned.

Loki looked at him, amused at his reaction, before turning his attention back to Natasha, who was grinning at them.

"You two are adorable." She simpered, ignoring the scowl from Loki. "So are you guys planning on telling anyone about…" She gestured at them. "Whatever you two are now?" She finished.

Loki nodded, but Tony shook his head. "Well… Obviously we'll tell people eventually, but there's no rush." Tony shrugged.

Loki looked confused and frowned. "I thought we'd been over this…" He muttered to Tony.

"Yeah, and look at how well that went last time." Tony said sarcastically in response.

Loki opened his mouth to retort, but Natasha interrupted him. "Please don't start fighting again, it was bad enough last time. Now, I'm gonna grab my jacket and go, so you two can continue your…activities." She said, smirking as she left.

Tony flopped back down onto the bed, looking surprised when Loki stood up.

"Where are you going, Shakespeare?"

Loki had to resist the urge smile at the familiar nickname. "To my room. I mean, we don't want Bruce to find out, do we?" He sniped.

Tony groaned. "Loki, I didn't mean it like that…"

"I know, but I don't see what your problem is." Loki stated.

"It's…complicated. And it's kind of stupid." Tony admitted, sitting back up.

Loki shrugged and sat back down cross-legged on the bed. "I don't care."

Tony smiled softly at him. "Well… I guess it just makes it more real, not that that's a bad thing though. And I'm just worried that what happened last time will happen again, and I really don't want that to happen."

Loki grasped his hand and held it. "It won't. I promise." He said firmly.

Tony sighed. "I know, but can we at least wait a bit?" He asked.

"Fine. Whatever you feel comfortable doing." Loki said.

Tony smiled at him, but frowned when he stood up and headed to the door.

"Hey! Don't leave!" He cried out in protest.

Loki turned around. "I need to take a shower, Stark." He said, exasperated.

Tony smirked. "My shower works perfectly fine."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I still need my clothes."

"You can borrow mine." Tony said, smiling as he imagined Loki wearing his clothes.

"Yes, then everyone would definitely still think that we hate each other." Loki responded sarcastically, reaching for the door.

"Wait!" Tony called out, getting out of bed.

"What now?" Loki said irritably.

"I didn't get to say good morning to you properly." Tony smiled smugly.

The corners of Loki's mouth turned up. "And how might that be?"

Tony walked forward and closed the distance between them, kissing Loki and pulling him closer to him. Tony slipped his tongue into Loki's mouth and slid it over Loki's own one, making Loki moan into his mouth, before pulling away, flushed.

"Stop distracting me." Loki scolded, hitting his arm playfully

"You like it…" Tony teased, earning another shove.

"I'm going. Goodbye." Loki stated, turning around and tiptoeing out of the dorm, ignoring protests from Tony.

Tony grinned to himself once Loki left. Everything was back to normal. Well, at least as normal as what was possible for them. Yeah, it wasn't going to be easy to maintain a relationship with someone as insecure and dark as Loki, not that it was in anyway a bad thing, but Tony was prepared to work for it, something he'd never done in previous relationships. This would've terrified him any other time, but after spending the night with Loki, even though they didn't really do anything, and still feeling like he wouldn't want to be anywhere else, as lame as it sounds, it just felt normal.

Loki stepped under the warm jets of the shower, allowing himself to relax under the soft spray of water. He'd missed having his own bathroom, one that wasn't cluttered with Thor's things like his home one. Loki didn't understand how even when Thor was at school, he managed to keep hundreds of bottles of varying lotions and oils (Loki didn't want to know what for) in their home bathroom.

Despite his efforts to take his thoughts away from miscellaneous things, his mind turned back to the events that occurred a month prior, like they always did when he was alone. He couldn't remember much about being admitted to the hospital, only multiple beeping noises and blurs of colour, until seeing Tony again. But the hour before falling unconscious, Loki remembered a lot more clearly than he would've liked.

_"Do not touch me again." Loki warned, trying his best to fight his way out of Fandral's grip._

_Fandral laughed menacingly. "But you like me touching you, don't you pretty boy?" He purred, his hand stroking Loki's inner thigh, as his shirt was pulled over his head._

_"I am warning you, get off me or I will scream!" Loki said through gritted teeth._

_"But there's no one here to listen." Fandral pointed out all too happily._

_Loki refused to look down as Fandral aggressively bit and sucked his way down his chest, drawing blood. Upon seeing Loki's resistance to react, he clutched Loki's neck tightly, choking him, before placing his lips onto Loki's flesh, and sucking painfully, not in a sexy or hot way. Loki knew there would be bruises there that would last for months, and scratch marks down his back that would stand out, along with a matching set of bruises on his thighs from being prevented from moving. _

_Fandral, in attempt to get Loki hard, began palming him through his jeans, without much luck. He was angry now, and cupped Loki's chin._

_"Moan for me." He demanded angrily._

_Loki's eyes met his defiantly. "Never."_

_Fandral grinned back at him, a feral snarl lighting up his features. "I guess I'll just have to make you, then."_

_And before Loki could register what was happening, Fandral was slamming his fist repeatedly into Loki's stomach, leaving him no time to catch his breath between blows. He was coughing up blood when Natasha suddenly appeared and the last thing he knew before he blacked out was that the hammering on his guts had stopped, but the pain certainly hadn't._

Loki opened his eyes and abruptly turned off the shower, hoping to make the memories join the water in disappearing down the drain. He wrapped himself in a towel, and stared at his reflection. The bruises on his legs were fading, but the ones on his neck still stood out, he'd have to continue wearing a scarf so that rumours wouldn't start, god forbid Tony to find out, he didn't need to give him more reasons to worry about his health.

Tony made a coffee and idly made his bed, debating whether or not to cross the hall and see Loki again, wondering if it would make him clingy. But the prospect of maybe seeing Loki in only a towel won him over, and he threw on some clean clothes and headed across the hall, not bothering to knock on the door.

Much to Tony's delight, Loki had just emerged from the shower, in all his wet-haired glory, with only a towel wrapped around his bottom half.

Loki, even though he was surprised, still managed to get out a sarcastic remark. "Miss me already?" He said, quickly grabbing another towel to dry his hair with.

Tony scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Laufeyson."

"Oh I wouldn't, if it wasn't for the fact that you won't stop ogling me." Loki smirked, tilting his head carefully to the side and toweling his hair.

Tony's eyes snapped back up from where they were roaming Loki's well-built torso, and grinned somewhat sheepishly.

"Sorry." He said, but they both knew he didn't mean it.

Loki rolled his eyes. "You want something?"

"Your company's fine, thanks." Tony said, throwing himself down on the bed.

Loki sighed and resumed the drying of his hair, but in the process the towel slipped too low, accidentally revealing his neck, dark bruises and hickeys littering the pale white of his skin. Loki, after realizing this, quickly flung his hair back over his shoulder, hoping Tony hadn't noticed.

He had.

Tony's eyes narrowed slightly as stood up and slowly walked over to where Loki was standing, and parted the hair away in order to take another look. Loki stiffened, bracing himself for a verbal attack. It didn't come.

"He did this to you, didn't he?" Tony's voice was low, as he struggled to keep his temper. Loki didn't make a sound, but Tony knew he was right. The blow to his stomach was horrible enough, but he'd tried to strangle Loki as well? He stepped back, so that he was directly behind Loki, and continued to observe the bruises on a different angle, noticing something familiar about them. They weren't just bruises, some of the marks were very distinctive, like hickeys. That's when it clicked. Loki's subtle reluctance to initiate any sort of sexual contact and his refusal to share what had happened to him.

"He didn't just beat you up that night, did he?" It was more of a statement than a question, and they both knew it.

Loki slowly nodded, his eyes closed, not expecting the arms that snaked around his waist and held him close, as a pair of lips gently kissed every bruise on his neck in a way that wasn't intended for pleasure, only to show care.

Tony's lips were now at his ear. "I promise you, I will _never _hurt you like he did."

Loki let out a shaky breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding in. "I know." He murmured, leaning back onto Tony. "I trust you. Fandral didn't get all the way though, Natasha wouldn't have left him alive if we had. But please, don't let this hold us back, alright?"

Tony let out a weak laugh. "I'll try."

Loki turned around in Tony's arms and rested his head against Tony's. "Thank you." He murmured. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably put some clothes on – don't leave though, I'll be out in a mo."

Tony nodded. "I won't."

Loki pecked him on the cheek before walking into the bathroom with his clothes.

Once the door had shut, Tony had to resist the urge to punch another wall. Why? Why had this happened to Loki of all people? _His _Loki. He didn't deserve it, nobody deserved it. Lucky for Fandral that he'd resigned from college, or else Tony would be storming over there and personally making sure he never touched Loki again. But Loki didn't like people fighting his battles for him, or being treated like glass. He was emotionally strong, yet also sensitive at the same time, an odd mix.

The man himself walked out of the bathroom at that very moment, wearing black yoga pants and a green hoodie.

Tony grinned, all loathing towards Fandral forgotten at seeing Loki smile at him.

"New look?" Tony asked, so used to the tight jeans and leather jackets that he'd forgotten that Loki actually owned other clothes.

"It's cold." Loki shrugged, pulling a pair of socks on.

"Yeah, it's snowing now." Tony remarked, absently looking out the window. "Do you like winter?"

Loki nodded. "It's my favourite season, actually."

"I should really be getting used to your weirdness by now, shouldn't I?" Tony smirked.

"Says the man who has an abnormal fixation on technology." Loki retorted.

"Well, I wouldn't be a Stark if I didn't." Tony said, sitting down on the bed, and gesturing for Loki to do the same. Loki did, crossing his legs.

"Speaking of technology, how is Weapons Development?" Loki asked.

Tony's eyes lit up, both at Loki's interest and at the fact he could show off his skills. "Well, I had my exam on it on Thursday, I think it went well, well, of course it did, but I don't get my results back until Tuesday. There are some complete idiots in my class though. You know Justin Hammer?"

Loki nodded. "The one that thinks he's a genius, yeah?"

"He has got to be the most infuriating person I've ever met. His technology _sucks _he's completely sexist _and _he almost set the classroom on fire."

Loki laughed at the last part.

"And it wasn't even a practical lesson!" Tony continued to rant.

"What, so he just accidentally had some matches and accidentally rubbed them against something?" Loki asked, smiling.

"Pretty much, yeah! How he got into the school, I have no idea." Tony huffed, just as his phone rang.

Tony rolled his eyes and answered it. "Hello?"

"Tony, it's me." Bruce answered.

"Brucie! What do you want?" Tony replied cheerfully.

"For you not to call me that ever again, for one. Also, I managed to finish our Physics project, I just need you to take the readings and then we're finished."

Tony groaned. "Can't you take them?"

Bruce sighed. "You know I'm no good when it comes to taking readings. Remember last time?"

Tony laughed. "True, true. I'll be over in a minute."

He hung up and put his phone down.

"Look, I have to go now, Bruce needs me." Tony apologized.

Loki shrugged. "See you later then."

Tony leaned in to kiss Loki, only to be pushed back.

"Wha-?" Tony asked, eyebrows raised.

Loki smirked. "You said yourself you didn't want people to find out about us. So I came up with a deal that works well for both of us. You can't touch me, until you figure out a way to tell your friends that we're together."

Tony looked at him open mouthed. "Are you blackmailing me?"

Loki thought for a minute. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"You're joking. We just got back together!"

"I know. And we still are together, We're friends with benefits, just without the benefits part." Loki explained.

Tony stood up, not quite believing Loki. "Yeah, okay then. See you later, _friend."_

Loki smiled at his retreating back, "I do not doubt that you will."


	15. Chapter 15

The next few days were pretty normal. Students got their exam results back, Loki and Tony's group all passing, but Loki and Tony had no time to see each other until the next weekend, as both were busy with schoolwork. Which was a good thing, considering what Loki had planned.

Loki wanted Tony as desperate as possible before putting his plan into action.

Saturday morning began like any other for Tony. He got up, got dressed, and walked to the cafeteria with Bruce to join the rest of the group for breakfast. Steve and Peggy were looking at each other lovingly, Natasha and Clint were bickering, and Thor was eating colossal amounts of food whilst Jane shook her head at him. The only person missing, he noticed as he sat down next to Natasha, was Loki.

Tony hadn't spoken to Loki since he had decided that Tony wasn't allowed touch him until he told everyone else that they were together. Tony didn't think he was serious, but apparently he was.

"Anyone seen Loki?" He asked the group.

Everyone shook their heads, except Natasha who smirked. "I saw him just before, I helped him do his hair."

Tony shot her a withering look. "His hair?"

Natasha continued to smirk. "You'll see." She said, before adding in a whisper so that only Tony could hear, "He intends to make this _very _difficult for you."

Tony looked at her questioningly, but was prevented from asking any questions by Jane and Maria.

"Oh. My. God." Maria whispered.

"Wow." Jane added.

Tony turned around to see what everyone was staring out, as the entire cafeteria went silent.

He had to force himself not to drool.

Loki had just walked in, and the words sex bomb were the most accurate ones Tony could think of to describe him. His jet black jeans were tight, showing off his perfect ass and legs, and his shirt was a figure-hugging green cotton tee, that drew attention to his toned torso. He was wearing plain black high-top converses, making him look even taller than usual. But it was his hair that was the winner. The opposite of his usual black bob, it was tussled, and fluffed up, making him look extremely rock 'n' roll. All eyes followed him as he made his way over to their table, and sat down in the seat opposite Tony.

Loki smirked to himself, as he saw the lust in Tony's eyes, and as the noise level started back up again.

"Morning." He greeted, his eyes flickering around the table.

There were various greetings repeated around the table in response, everyone still kind of shocked at the transformation.

"So what's for breakfast?" Loki inquired, deciding to slide into his natural British accent, rather than his usual slightly American one.

"You," muttered Clint. "If you don't watch out."

"Bacon and eggs." Natasha replied, ignoring Clint and struggling not laugh at the look on Tony's face. She knew he wouldn't last the day, but how he would tell everyone, she didn't know.

Loki made a face. "I'll just get fruit salad." He said, standing up. But as he walked up to the counter and passed Tony, he ran a finger lightly up Tony's arm and winked, before continuing walking.

Tony turned to glare at Natasha, his arm tingling. "Was this your idea?" He accused.

She laughed. "Nope, I just helped."

He continued sulking until Loki came back, and even then he stared at his toast like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Loki, noticing his reluctance to look at him, gently brushed his foot against Tony's leg, causing his eyes to snap up and look at him, immediately regretting it. Loki had stabbed a piece of pineapple with his fork, and was currently wrapping his lips around it and slowly sucking the piece off.

Tony's eyes went dark as he glared at him

Loki continued to tease him, his pink tongue slowly licking his lips, his eyes never leaving Tony's.

Natasha, who was observing all of this, was quite impressed with the two of them. Loki, for being such a tease, and Tony for somehow having the willpower to not lunge across the table and press his lips to Loki's.

But Tony wasn't the only one effected by Loki's tongue, even Jane was admiring him, much to Thor's annoyance.

"Brother, what is your reason for this new look?" Thor inquired irritably.

Loki snapped his eyes away from Tony's and towards Thor. "I am merely trying to win a competition. Don't worry, I have no plans to make advances towards dear Jane." He said with a smirk, ignoring the glare from Thor and the affronted look from Jane.

Using the pause to his advantage, Tony pulled out his phone and sent a text to Loki from under the table, hoping that he had his phone on him.

**Tease.**

Loki looked down as his phone vibrated, smiling as he read the message.

_That was the plan. It's all down to you now._

Tony scowled as he read the text, still trying to ignore the foot that was idly stroking his leg.

Natasha leaned towards Tony. "He's not going to stop, you know. Not until you make your, er, _announcement_."

"I know that, thank you very much." He muttered in response.

She shrugged. "Well, even _I _would tap that, and he's like a brother to me."

"Natasha!" Tony exclaimed.

"I'm only joking. My point is, sometimes I wonder what drug you use to get your numerous, temporary partners." She continued to tease.

That was enough. Tony stood up, glaring at Loki.

"I have to go." He said to everyone, before spinning on his heel and storming off.

Everyone stared after him, Natasha looking slightly guilty.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "What did you say?" He demanded.

"It was just a joke, Loki." She replied defensively.

"Clearly not to him." He retorted, before following Tony out of the cafeteria.

Everyone turned to Natasha. "What was all that about?" Clint asked.

Natasha sighed. "They're just over-reacting to something I said to Tony."

Clint looked at her curiously. "Loki's getting defensive of Tony? That's new…"

"That is not like my brother…" Thor agreed.

"I think we all know Loki isn't the most predictable of people." Bruce added.

There were murmurs of agreement.

"Yeah, but Loki and Tony _have _been acting rather odd lately." Peggy reminded them.

"And there was the whole thing at the hospital." Maria said.

"What was the hospital thing?" Clint asked.

"You know, Loki was on his deathbed and he asked for Tonyof all people." Maria replied.

"Seriously?" Clint exclaimed, his brow furrowed.

Thor nodded. "He was there, and he seemed pretty torn up about it."

"Wow, I should really handcuff people together more often." Clint remarked, pushing his bowl of cereal to the side.

"Well, I haven't personally seen them together that often, to be honest. Not since they were un-cuffed, at least." Jane commented, not caring too much about the situation.

Clint turned to Natasha. "Nat, you're good friends with Loki, right?"

Natasha rolled her eyes at him. "Only just noticed, Barton?" She said skeptically.

He chose to ignore her, as he did with most of her sarcastic quips. "Are him and Tony friends now or what?" He asked, intrigued by the information he had recently been given.

Natasha looked slightly uncomfortable, but none of the others picked up on it. "They're closer than you think." She admitted. She wasn't giving anything away, but she was sending the group in the right direction.

Meanwhile, Peggy had turned to Steve, noticing he hadn't said anything throughout their conversation. "Steve? What do you think?"

He looked away. "Oh, you know, it's not really any of my business, I suppose-"

Peggy cut him off with a glare. She knew Steve well enough to know when he wasn't telling her something.

"What aren't you telling me?" She demanded, her light brown eyes narrowing at him.

The rest of the group was now watching them, and Steve blushed at the attention. "Er, Libby may've told me that she walked in one them one afternoon."

Clint leaned in eagerly. "Walked in on them doing what, exactly?"

Steve blushed more. "Kissing."

Shocked and amused looks were shared amongst the group, as Clint gaped at him. "And you never thought to mention it?"

"It wasn't any of my business!" Steve argued.

Clint shook his head. "Whatever. Anyone else have information regarding campus's hottest new couple?" He asked, half-kidding, half-serious.

Maria raised a hand. "You know how Loki and I were dating for a week, right?"

Everyone nodded. Clint's jaw dropped. "You guys had a-?"

Natasha dug her elbow into his ribs. "Ah-Ow, Tasha!" He winced.

Maria rolled her eyes. "Really, Clint?" She sighed. "Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Yes…" Clint grumbled, rubbing his chest.

"Okay, so I went to visit Loki, but I heard voices from his room, so being the secret agent I am, I listened in for a moment to see who it was. It was Tony, and him and Loki were arguing about whether or not he should date me. Tony was telling him how I wasn't right for him, and Loki was arguing that Tony knew nothing about him, and then Tony went on this long spiel about how well he knew Loki, before leaving without Loki saying anything to him." Maria said, without pausing for breath.

Bruce whistled. "Well, this is interesting." He remarked, an eyebrow raised.

"You're telling me." Clint muttered.

Thor hadn't said anything since Steve's confession. He was both shocked and annoyed at Loki's new relationship. He thought Loki would trust him enough to tell him that he had found someone, but apparently not. And Tony of all people. Yes, Tony was a good friend of Thor's, but he didn't completely trust him with his younger brother. He was still known as a notorious womanizer, despite having an on-and-off relationship with Pepper for over a year. Thor wanted Loki to be safe and happy, and he wanted to make sure Tony would be the person that made him feel that way, not the opposite.

Thor turned to Natasha. "Were you aware of this?" He asked, knowing that Loki and Natasha shared everything.

Natasha shrugged. "I'm neither going to confirm nor deny anything. This is Loki and Tony's business, and I'm not going to speak on behalf on them." She said, choosing her words carefully.

"Argh!" Clint half-yelled in impatience, suddenly standing up. "I'm going to find them, and figure out what's going on. Anyone going to come with me?" He declared, staring at the table.

There were echoes of agreement, as the whole table stood up and decided to join Clint in his search, all of them just as curious as him.

**Meanwhile, in Tony's dorm…**

Tony stormed into his room and slammed the door behind him angrily. It started off pretty amusing, but Natasha's comments were getting to him. He wasn't proud of his list of sexual partners, but Loki should know that _they didn't matter to Tony. _So why couldn't Natasha cope with it? He couldn't stand people interfering with his relationships, not that Natasha was intentionally doing that, he just got sensitive when it came to his relationship, including best friends making comments that she'd "tap" his boyfriend. And what was Loki's point? To make him jealous? To seduce him so that he'd tell people about their relationship? To show off how many other people could have him? God, Loki was hard to read. Or maybe Tony just read him too much…

There was a sharp knock on the door. Tony had no doubt it was Loki, or Natasha. Sure enough, when he opened the door, Loki stood there, with his hair still tussled and a perfect eyebrow arched.

"What?" Tony snapped at him.

Loki raised another eyebrow. "Lovely to see you too, dear." He patronized. Yup, he was still speaking in his British accent.

"I hope you're happy! You proved your point!" Tony exclaimed, throwing his hands up in surrender.

Loki looked confused, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Tony glared at him. "You know what I mean. Coming along and showing off your good looks." He grumbled.

Loki smirked at the last line. "You know, you really do look quite cute when you're jealous."

Tony's eyes snapped up to his. "I'm not jealous." He attempted to argue, not convincing anyone.

"Yes you are." Loki corrected, leaning against the door frame.

"Shut up." Tony muttered, looking away.

"You don't need to be, you know." Loki said softly. "I wasn't trying to impress anyone but you." He confessed quietly.

Tony's eyes shot back to look at him. "You don't need to impress me, Loki." He reassured him.

"What, don't you like the look I'm going for?" Loki said, his brow furrowing.

Tony smirked. "Oh no, I love it. You should dress like this more often. Especially the hair."

Loki rolled his eyes, but still felt quite flattered. He'd worked hard to plan his seduction technique, with some input from Natasha.

Tony leaned in to kiss him, but was pushed back again.

"Our deal is still on." Loki reminded him.

Tony scowled. "This is ridiculous…"

"No, what's ridiculous is you refusing to grow a pair. I'm not having this conversation again, Anthony." Loki interrupted, frustrated. He turned to leave, put Tony pulled him back.

"How do I tell them?" Tony finally asked.

Loki smiled. "You could always-"

Their conversation was halted when the sound of chatter and loud footsteps approached.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Clint shouted.

Tony and Loki looked at each other, extremely confused and-although they wouldn't admit it-relieved.

"Or there's that." Tony pointed out.

"Or there's that." Loki repeated.

The group, currently consisting of Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Thor, Jane, Peggy, Maria and Steve had congregated around them.

"So," Bruce said. "Are you guys going to tell us what's going on?" He asked.

Loki looked at Tony, who shifted slightly uncomfortably. It was kind of now or never, really. If he said they were together, everything became that much more real, and scarier, but if he said they weren't, he would quite possibly lose Loki.

Tony looked around at all of them. "We're dating. We got together towards the end of September, but things didn't go to well so we broke up and got back together a few days ago." Tony stated, showing no sign of embarrassment or awkwardness.

Loki smiled softly to himself, and took in the reactions of others. Natasha looked relieved, Maria and Bruce looked pleased, Clint looked as if Natasha had just told him she loved him, Thor looked as if he didn't quite know how to feel, whilst Steve was grinning at them. Peggy and Jane didn't look too worried or surprised, but looked happy for them all the same.

"Sleeping together or dating?" Clint asked, mischievously.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Dating, Clint. Just dating." He replied.

"For now…" Tony muttered to Loki, who laughed.

Tony was relieved, realizing the only person he needed to really worry about was Thor, understandable, seeing as he was the older brother. He decided to risk it, and put his arm around Loki's waist.

"So how did you guys find out?" Loki asked, leaning into Tony.

"Well, after you ran off after Tony, we got kinda suspicious and realized that you were a lot closer than you seemed to be, and had both been acting really weirdly around each other. We also had some strong evidence to support our ideas, so it didn't take long." Clint shrugged.

"I see." Loki replied, nodding.

"Well, if that's all sorted, I'm going back to breakfast." Jane said walking off with Peggy and Steve, who both agreed with her and left.

Bruce nodded. "Well, I can't say I'm not surprised, but whatever makes you two happy, I suppose. Have a good weekend!" He said supportively.

"Yeah, sorry guys, we have training now." Maria said, referring to her, Clint and Natasha, who both groaned at the prospect of doing Martial Arts on a Saturday morning.

"Oh yeah, that's me as well." Loki remembered, with a pang of extreme annoyance.

"Really?" Tony objected.

"Yup, last class before the holidays." Clint said. "I'm leaving tonight, so I may as well do some intense training before a few weeks of relaxing."

"Anyway, we should probably get ready. See you guys in the dojo, then." Loki said, nodding at his friends as they left to get changed, before turning into his own room.

"Brother, wait!" Thor called out. Both Tony and Loki had almost forgotten he was there, until now.

"Yes, Thor?" Loki answered.

"We need to talk. Dinner tonight at 6pm?" Thor demanded.

"Yeah, sure. See you then." Loki replied, walking into his room without saying goodbye to Tony.

Thor left, and Tony went back into his room. _Finally _things were how they should be, and him and Loki could actually be a proper couple, but of course Loki has a class that will take up most of his day, followed by dinner with his brother, leaving no time for Tony, except possibly after dinner, frustratingly enough. But whatever, him and Loki had all the time in the world now.

Thor and Loki walked silently to a restaurant down the road, neither of them knowing what to say. They sat down in a corner booth and ordered, another waitress baffled at Thor's appetite.

"So how's Jane?" Loki asked, trying to ease the tension.

"Good." Was Thor's stunted response. "How's Anthony?"

"He's good." Loki repeated.

"Why didn't you tell me about him?" Thor suddenly asked.

Loki sighed. "He didn't want anyone knowing, and I chose to respect that. I'm sorry I didn't let you know, but I couldn't have told you anyway."

Thor glowered at him.

"Look, if that' s all we're here for, I'm going." Loki said irritably.

"I just don't trust him, brother. I know of his history, and I can't say I approve." Thor admitted.

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Well, I trust him with my life. I am perfectly aware if my own boyfriend's reputation, thank you very much." He retorted.

"Loki, is it really wise to-"

"Yes, Thor, it is perfectly wise, whatever it is. I am sick of people lecturing me about my relationships, so unless you have something to share that is unrelated to my love life, I am leaving." Loki muttered angrily, standing up and throwing his napkin on the table.

"Loki…" Thor protested.

"What, Thor? Ask me out for dinner when you begin to accept our relationship." Loki spat, and stormed out of the restaurant and back to campus.


	16. Chapter 16

Tony jumped as the door to his dorm slammed shut. Bruce was _never _that angry, and he was sincerely hoping that it wasn't a pissed off Thor or Natasha.

He was, however, pleasantly surprised when his door was thrown open by Loki. He was fuming, thoroughly angry after his conversation with his brother, and needed someone to vent to, seeing as last time he fought with Thor he almost crashed a car.

"Hey, you alright?" Tony asked, closing his laptop lid and turning to face Loki.

Loki scowled. "No." was all he said.

"Let me guess, Thor?" Tony questioned.

Loki sighed and sat down on Tony's bed with a nod.

"You wanna talk about it?" Tony suggested.

Loki closed his eyes and lay down on the bed. "Not really, but I guess I owe you some sort of explanation as to why I kind of came storming into your room."

Tony chuckled. "If you don't want to, that's fine."

"No, I'm good." Loki opened his eyes and sat back up.

He paused for a moment. "My relationship with my so-called family has always been somewhat strained, to say the least, but Thor has always been over-protective of me. So obviously he wasn't happy about me not telling him about you." Loki said, pausing for a second.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "What, doesn't he like me?"

Loki shook his head. "No, he does, it's more your reputation he doesn't like."

"I see." Tony nodded in understanding. "So what does that mean? You don't like my reputation either?"

"I don't care about your "reputation" Stark, and you know that. I've been with a fair share of people, so have you, and that's that. Thor just refuses to believe what's right in front of him, and that's how it's always been. He tends to believe anything people say to him." Loki explained.

"I assume he has a history of doing that?" Tony remarked carefully. It wasn't often that Loki went into detail about his family, for reasons that were obvious to Tony, and for reasons that weren't. To say he was taking advantage of the situation was a bit harsh, but Tony would admit that he was curious about how deep the damage his family did to him went. He only wanted to help after all.

Loki snorted. "To say 'he does it a lot' is an understatement. It was always "father loves us both equally" and "we are your family, Loki". He refused to see the difference in treatment, no matter how obvious it was."

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Was the difference blatantly obvious, or was it more subtle? Because I know you have a habit of reading into things too much, and I want to make sure that that isn't the case." Tony replied, wincing at the glare he got from Loki. He knew it probably wasn't the _best _thing to say to Loki, but it was a fair enough question.

Loki took a deep breath before speaking again. "Every day of my life, for ten years, I was constantly reminded that I wasn't good enough, and that I never would be. Once I discovered I was adopted, I was told not to be ungrateful - which apparently I was being - and to pretend to be okay. Even when I was younger I got looks of disdain, I could never do anything as well as Thor. If I wasn't smart enough, I spent all my time studying, only to be called a geek. If I wasn't strong or fit enough, I would spend all my time at the gym, only to have Odin tell me I was being a show-off. I worked my arse of to get into this school, because I knew it would make my family proud. But of course, Odin couldn't care less. He told me that I only got in because he paid for me to get in. The one achievement I was actually proud of, had nothing to do with my so-called talents. However, Thor got a new car for getting into the school, along with a new allowance, whereas I got nothing. Is that obvious enough for you, Stark?" Loki said, but the tone of his voice had softened.

Tony hung his head and closed his eyes as Loki continued. "I pretty much spent my childhood and teenage years pretending to ignore the constant insults and comments thrown my way, no matter how much they hurt me."

He paused for a moment, considering whether or not he should tell Tony everything. But he'd gotten this far, and Tony deserved a full explanation. "And those comments, they hurt me, they really did, if you couldn't already tell by my, er, wrist." Loki said quietly, gesturing at his left wrist. "When I was sixteen, I didn't want to live anymore. I don't even know what stopped me from actually killing myself, I didn't believe I had anything to live for. Nothing was going my way. Until I got into this school and could finally leave home. And then I met Natasha, and later on, got to know you… and here I am now." Loki smiled softly, then leaned further back onto the bed resting his weight on his arms and grinned a little lopsidedly. "So, that's my sob story. I guess you know now why I'm not a big fan of sharing my emotions; I have too many of them." He smirked at his own dry wit in an attempt to downplay his story.

Neither of them said anything for a while. Tony kept his head down, trying to figure out what to say next. They both knew Tony wasn't good at dealing with emotions, and Loki wasn't expecting him to reply with anything deep, but he was surprised when Tony reached for his left wrist. However, Loki was propping himself up on that arm and had to swap arms in order for Tony to see his wrist.

Wordlessly, Tony turned Loki's wrist over to the side that was scarred, and held it up to his lips, gently kissing all of them, his eyes never leaving Loki's glittering ones.

Tony took a deep breath and knocked on Thor and Steve's door. It was the day after Loki had spilled his heart to Tony, and he had decided to talk to Thor, and reassure him that he genuinely did like Loki, for both his personality and his looks, something he couldn't say about most of the people he'd "dated".

The door was flung open by Steve, who looked surprised to see Tony standing at the door.

"Oh, er, hey Tony." Steve greeted awkwardly.

Tony nodded at him. "Hey Steve. Thor in?" He inquired.

Steve looked confused. "Yeah, I'll just go get him…" He trailed off, leaving to go and grab Thor.

Tony waited a few moments, until an angry looking Thor emerged.

"Anthony, I do not wish to talk to you right now." Thor huffed, turning around to leave.

"Woah, big guy. I think we need to set some things straight first. I'm not going until I talk to you properly." Tony said, standing his ground.

Thor sighed. "Fine then, Stark. Talk away."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. "Can I come in? It's kinda cold out here…"

Thor gestured for him to come in, before shutting the door behind them and making his way into the living room.

"You wished to speak?" Thor asked.

"Yeah. Loki told me about your argument." Tony answered.

Thor raised his eyebrows. "That was between him and I."

"Yeah, yeah. But the thing is, it kinda affects me too, whether you want it to or not. He says he doesn't care about what you think of our relationship, but I know he does." Tony said, noticing the frown on Thor's face when he said the word "relationship".

"What makes you think you know how Loki feels?" Thor retorted.

Tony huffed. "I know more about him than you give me credit for. We were hand cuffed to each other for a week, remember?"

"I only want what's best for him-" Thor started, but Tony cut him off.

"Yeah, I know. I do too. But he's been through hell, Thor, you need to realize that." Tony told him.

Thor looked confused. "I do not understand…"

"Maybe because you don't listen to him enough? He has issues with your father, surely you picked up on that?"

Thor's eyes narrowed. "That is private."

"So you _did _notice it, then." Tony remarked.

"Of course I did, how could I not?" Thor said irritably.

"Then how come you didn't defend him? Or comfort him?" Tony challenged.

"Loki was not the only one under pressure from father, Anthony. And who said I did not defend him? Just because I didn't defend him whilst Loki was present, does not meant I never defended him." Thor said defensively. "I was there when he was being insulted, I very much realize the damage that was done to him, despite what Loki may think. I know him better than you. By blood or not, Loki is, and always will be, my brother."

Tony smiled slightly. "Okay, let's not make this into a competition of who knows Loki best. So are we okay now? I'm no longer going to be beaten to a pulp by you?" Tony said, only half-joking.

Thor laughed. "I'm still considering it. I still do not understand why Loki did not tell me about your relationship sooner, though."

Tony looked sheepish. "Yeah, that was me. I didn't really want anyone to know about us. I felt like it would make it more real. But you can trust me, Thor, I only want what's best for Loki, he's not just another person I'm going to sleep with. You have to trust me."

"What, you wish for my blessing?" Thor asked.

Tony smirked. "Nah, I'd date him no matter what you say."

Thor rolled his eyes as Tony stood up to leave. "One more thing, Anthony. Loki was seeing Fandral, was he not?"

Tony froze for a fraction of a second, then nonchalantly turned around, his eyes suddenly colder. "Only for a week or so."

"What happened to him? I haven't seen him around in a while." Thor was oblivious to Tony's internal hysteria.

"Did Loki ever tell you how the internal bleeding was caused?" Tony asked carefully.

"No." Thor answered, confused both at why Tony was asking this and at why he didn't know the answer.

"Exactly." Tony said, before leaving.

Meanwhile, Loki and Natasha had gone out shopping for winter scarves and Christmas presents.

As they walked into Starbucks, they begun talking about their holiday plans.

"So, are you going back to Russia?" Loki asked, sipping on his soy latte.

Natasha shook her head. "Nah, no point. You going to Chicago?"

Loki shrugged. "I guess, don't really have anywhere else to go. Where are you going to stay then?"

Natasha blushed, but would've just blamed it on the cold if anyone mentioned it. "Clint's invited me to stay with him for a bit."

Loki grinned and nudged her. "Ooh, you did say yes, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "I said maybe."

"Nat!"

"What? It's not as if we're a couple or anything!" She exclaimed.

"Not yet…" Loki muttered.

"I heard that!" She said indignantly.

"That was the point." He smiled. "So where's Clint going?"

"He's going anywhere warm. Most likely Florida." She replied.

"Lucky." Loki made a face. "I'm going straight back into the cold."

"What about Tony? Hasn't he invited you to stay with him?" Natasha asked.

Loki looked away. "No. He's probably busy over the holidays anyway."

Natasha sighed. "Yeah, but he's your boyfriend."

"Just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean he's obliged to do everything with me." Loki said defensively.

"Yeah, I know. But are you guys really going to be able to go four weeks without sex? Speaking of which, what's it like sleeping with Tony Stark?" She joked.

Now it was Loki's turn to blush furiously, which surprised Natasha.

"Wow, for a guy that came to me unabashedly asking for help to seduce Tony Stark, you seem seriously embarrassed to discuss your sexperiences with him." She commented.

"Sexperiences?" He asked.

"Yeah, you know. Sex and experiences put together. Duh. Now answer my question. What's it like?"

Noticing an elderly couple staring at them oddly, Loki insisted that they leave, and continue their conversation elsewhere. They stood up and continued their conversation whilst walking around the mall.

"Look, as hard as it might be for you to believe, I haven't slept with him." Loki whispered to her.

She turned to him, her eyes wide. "You're joking?!"

Loki raised his hands. "Not a joke."

Oddly enough, she believed him. It made sense. The reason why Loki kept blushing and why Tony hadn't invited him away.

"Do you want to?" She asked, her lips curving back into a smirk.

Loki glared at her. "What do you think?"

Natasha seized this opportunity to make Loki feel as awkward as possible. "Do you think about doing it at night when you're lying in bed?" She whispered back huskily.

"Nat, what are you on?" Loki sighed.

"I bet you'd _love _for him to have you in his workshop." She said in an undertone.

"Tasha, stop it." Loki hissed.

"I bet you're vying to be Tony's new tinkering project, huh Lo?" She continued to whisper seductively.

Even Loki had to laugh at that. "Seriously?" He said in the midst of his laughter.

Natasha shrugged. "I tried." Was all she had to say for herself.

"Oh my god. Why are we best friends?" Loki remarked.

She grinned. "Because if we weren't, we'd be enemies. Now, I need to go to the supermarket, and then we can split up and get presents for each other. Deal?"

Loki was still laughing. "Yeah, deal."

Natasha smiled at him before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the supermarket that was up ahead.

When they entered the supermarket, they bought several bars of chocolate as well as some pop-tarts for Thor, before heading into the hygiene section. Natasha needed another toothbrush, and Loki needed another packet of Nurofen.

As they were walking through the aisle, they just happened to pass the shelves of condoms and lube (Loki was certain Natasha had planned it). When they walked past it, Loki couldn't help glance at it for a second-okay, maybe more than a second- much to Natasha's delight.

All she had to do was smirk at him in acknowledgement before saying; "Oh, you so want to get in his pants."

Loki tutted. "Shut up, Tasha."


	17. Chapter 17

"Brother!" Thor yelled out.

Loki stiffened and rolled his eyes. Him and Natasha had just arrived back from shopping, and after he insisted that she call Clint to tell him that she was going on holiday with him, she'd finally gone back to her room to make the call. However, his good mood from spending time with Nat had instantly evaporated.

"Hello, Thor." Loki replied in a monotone. He really didn't want to get into this now.

"Have you been out shopping?" Thor asked.

"Obviously." Loki said with another eye roll, holding up the shopping bags.

Thor ignored this. "Brother-"

"How many times must I tell you Thor, you are _not _my brother!" Loki exclaimed.

" And how many times must I tell you that you are! Are we really going to get back into this now?" Thor responded exasperatedly.

Loki scowled. "Fine then, I'll go. Unless you actually stopped me for a reason."

"I want to apologize, Loki." Thor explained.

Loki quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Must you sound so skeptical?" Thor sighed. "I realize now that your relationship with Anthony is none of my business, and I apologize for interfering."

As pleased as Loki was to hear this, he knew that Thor didn't change his mind that easily.

"What made you change your mind?" Loki asked, his head cocked to the side.

Thor shrugged. "Anthony came and talked to me yesterday. He seems to truly care about you, and knows you better than you think."

Loki frowned. _Tony went to Thor? _He thought. _Bastard…_

"What exactly did he say to you?" Loki asked cautiously.

"Stuff about how his feelings for you are sincere and we talked briefly about your issues with Father. He also mentioned that you would feel more content if I approved of your relationship with him, which I now do. We also discussed Fandral-"

Loki's heart stopped beating for a second. Even now Fandral's name still gave him shivers. He was panicking, wondering what exactly it was that Tony had told Thor about him.

"…He told me that he had something to do with your hospitalization. Is this true Loki? Did he do something to you?" Thor continued, his brow furrowing.

Now Loki was annoyed. Tony didn't have any right to tell Thor that, even though he was right. "What? Oh that was nothing important…Speak of the devil, I might go see Anthony now actually. Thank you for your apology, Thor, I'll see you later." Loki said, his voice more fast-paced than usual, leaving a confused Thor standing in the hall as Loki spun around to enter Tony's dorm.

"Stark!" Loki growled, storming into Tony's room.

Tony looked up from his textbook, smiling when he saw it was Loki.

"Hey, how was the mall…" He trailed off, seeing the look of rage on Loki's face. "Oh shit, what did I do?"

If Loki's glares could kill, Tony would be dead a million times. "You talked to Thor." Loki said simply.

"Oh." Now Tony understood.

"You should've told me." Loki said, his eyes narrowed.

"See, this is exactly why I didn't tell you." Tony pointed out. "Look, it's not as if I betrayed your trust, I hardly told him anything."

"You told him that I would be happier if he approved of our relationship." Loki accused.

"Which is true." Tony stated.

Loki didn't argue. "You told him about my family issues."

"Hardly any of them. Plus, he's in your family anyway, so he kinda had a right to know."

Loki growled. "And finally, you told him about Fandral, which you had _no right to do_!"

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that…"

"You think?" Loki spat. "I _trusted _you with that information, I didn't want anyone to know! The only reason Nat knows, is because she played a part in stopping it!"

"I know! But what was I supposed to say, Loki? I didn't even tell him everything!" Tony replied defensively. "I only did it to help you, okay? Because, believe it or not, I actually give a damn about how you feel!"

Loki huffed and leaned against the wall, giving up.

"Look," Tony sighed, standing up. "I'm sorry, okay? But I just don't want to keep on fighting with you over every single thing. So we both need to just accept what's happened and move on, deal?" He said.

"Deal." Loki agreed, lifting his eyes to meet Tony's.

"Good." Tony smiled. "Because I really don't want to muck this relationship up, which I'm kinda prone to doing, but I'm going to-"

Loki darted forward and silenced him with a kiss. It was only supposed to be a brief kiss, to shut Tony up, but it was the first time they'd kissed properly since Loki made the no-touching rule, and both boys were very into it, to say the least.

Tony's hand was tangled in Loki's hair, and his tongue was in Loki's mouth. Their bodies were pressed together, both of them moving in synch against each other. Tony was considering moving them to the bed, but was prevented from doing so when a beeping noise punctuated their make-out session.

Loki reluctantly removed his mouth, and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, thinking that whoever it was, they better have a damn good reason for interrupting. Of course, it was a text from Natasha.

_Hey, I need help packing._

**I'm slightly pre-occupied right now.**

_Obviously not, if you're replying to me._

Loki sighed. **I was, but then a certain annoying redhead interrupted.**

_Interrupted what?_

**Stuff.**

_Are you with Tony?_

**Perhaps.**

_Oh I see…_

**Yeah…**

_I'll let you two get on with it ;-) Come over when you can._

**Shut up.**

Loki rolled his eyes and put his phone on silent, before glancing back at Tony, who was now sitting down on the bed looking bored.

"Sorry about that, Nat needed me." Loki apologized.

Tony perked up slightly, now that Loki's attention was back on him. "No, it's fine. She's practically a trained assassin, so I wouldn't want to ignore her either."

Loki smiled. "Hm, true. But you were looking pretty bored to me…"

"Then why don't you do something about it?" Tony smirked, pulling Loki onto his lap and reconnecting their lips eagerly. Their kisses were hungrier than before, and eventually Tony removed his mouth, only to place it on Loki's jaw and slowly kiss down his jawline, before reaching his neck.

Tony looked up for a moment, seeking permission from Loki to continue, and receiving a small nod in return. He gently pressed his lips to Loki's neck, before starting to nip at it slightly, eliciting a small moan from Loki. And Tony really liked that sound. So he began to suck on the same spot, causing Loki's head to roll back in pleasure, and allowing Tony to have more access to his neck.

And then Thor (for once) knocked on the door.

"Brother?"

With a mutter of; "Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!" from Tony, Loki rolled off his lap in a heartbeat, and flung his hair over his shoulders to cover the new red mark, hoping to make it look as if they were just having a normal conversation.

"Yes, Thor?" Loki snapped.

Thor pushed the door open, and held out Loki's shopping bags. "You left these in the corridor. I suggest you return them to your room before someone steals them." Thor explained, handing the bags to Loki.

Loki sighed irritably. "Yeah, fine. Thanks." He said, taking the bags from Thor, who promptly left, before heading back into his room to drop them off, closely followed by Tony.

"Well you've perked up considerably." Tony remarked with a grin.

Loki turned around. "Mm, I suppose I have."

"So whenever you're upset I just need to kiss you?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"It does seem to work." Loki nodded thoughtfully.

"I can live with that." Tony said, at the same time his phone buzzed.

He glanced down at it, his smirk turning into a look of horror.

"What is it?" Loki asked, concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"No, shit no." Tony cursed. " I'm supposed to be meeting Pepper in Grand Central Park right now. Shit!" He exclaimed again. "Look, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I'll text you later, okay?"

Loki shrugged. "It's fine, tell her I say hi."

"Yup!" Tony called out as he left.

Loki sighed. _Every _time him and Tony were doing something together, someone would always come in and interrupt them. Every. Single. Time. And it was becoming annoying. But he would have to deal with it and get on with his life, meaning he would have to see Natasha and help her pack. He was betting, that by the time her and Clint got back they would be a couple, and she needed his help picking out her wardrobe.

"Tasha!" He yelled, strolling into her room.

Her room was a mess.

Clothes were strewn everywhere, and the only suitcases that were packed were the ones with typical things in, like linen, books and movies. All S.H.I.E.L.D students got moved around into different dorms after every holiday, so they had to pack up all their stuff. If they didn't want to take it home, there was a secure storage unit on campus for those who required it. Natasha, being an international student, left most of her stuff there, except for one suitcase, which she was currently struggling with.

"Thank god you're here." She said breathlessly. "I'm having a crisis."

Who'd have though that Natasha Romanoff, one of the strongest and most independent people in college, was freaking out over going away with a guy?

"What's your problem?" Loki tried to ask as calmly as he could.

"I don't know what clothes to take!" Nat whined.

With a sigh, Loki crouched down next to her. Whether she'd ever admit it or not, she cared about what Clint thought of her. Others be damned, but if Clint Barton didn't like her, Natasha Romanoff would be a mess.

"Okay, so do you know exactly where you're going?" Loki asked, snapping into his business mode.

"Miami." Nat replied.

"Okay then, so you won't be needing these…" He said, throwing a pair of track pants and some gloves and scarves to the side. "Or these…" He continued, this time discarding thermals. "And as for bikini's, I recommend this one." He finished, holding up an emerald bikini that matched her eyes.

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. "What would I do without you?"

Loki smirked. "Let's not find out, okay?"

"Deal."

An hour, a suitcase and one exhausted Loki later, the two friends were reclining on Natasha's couch, discussing Natasha's current favourite topic; Tony.

"So," She started. "How was your afternoon with Tony?"

Loki scowled. "It was _great. _Until we were interrupted by you, followed by Thor, and then by Pepper."

Natasha raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? That sucks."

"Tell me about it." Loki muttered.

"So how did Tony feel about being interrupted?"

Loki shrugged. "He was annoyed when I started replying to you-"

"Wait, you were texting me in the middle of it?" Natasha cut in, outraged.

Loki frowned. "Well, yeah-"

"You can't just do that Loki! Have you never been in a relationship before?" She said, exasperated.

Loki gave her one of his infamous death glares. "Quite a few, thank you very much…"

"And did you ever start texting in the middle of sex?"

"We weren't in the _middle _of sex…"

"But still! How do you think this looks to Tony? You guys have had plenty of opportunities, but you just didn't seize them!" She ranted.

"No thanks to you! The first time, Libby and Amora walked in. The second time, you texted, then Thor walked in and then Pepper interrupted. So don't blame me for having a social life!" Loki explained angrily.

"You could've ignored me and you could've ignored Thor. And if you weren't so sensitive, you would've had an extra month with Tony." Natasha retorted.

Loki's eyes narrowed, that's when Natasha knew she'd stepped over the line.

"Okay, sorry, that was rude." She rushed to apologize.

Loki acknowledged this with a brief raise of his eyebrows.

"But come on, Loki! You've together for what, two weeks now? Since when did you wait two weeks to sleep with someone? The Loki I know would've done that within the first week!" She exclaimed, her eyes searching Loki's poker face. "So what are you afraid of?" She added softly.

There was a long silence and Nat was close to giving up on Loki when he quietly spoke up.

"He's Tony Stark, Tasha. What if I'm not good enough for him?" Loki said, finally voicing his concern. He'd been worried about this for a while, if he was honest. With Tony's reputation, there would be a high standard to live up to.

Natasha smiled. "Since when did your relationship sound like it came from a rom-com?" She joked. "But seriously. I've known Tony for two years, now, and he has never acted the was he acts around you with anyone, not even Pepper. He won't care about your performance, Loki, he'll care about the fact that it's you." Even Natasha was surprised at the sentimental stuff that was coming out of her mouth.

Loki groaned. "Since when did I worry about this kind of stuff? I'm not a romantic kind of person, what's happening to me?" He said theatrically.

She chuckled. "I think its because you looove him!" She quipped.

Loki snorted. "Yeah, sure. I don't do "love" and you know that."

"Not even with Tony?" She asked speculatively.

He couldn't answer that. "So what time's your flight?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

She rolled her eyes, she'd been expecting that reaction. " 9pm. But I have to be there by 7:30pm."

Loki checked his watch, it was only 5pm, though it felt much later. "Two hours. What are you going to do?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Probably go to the gym."

Loki pretended to be offended. "You're just going to ditch me?"

"No. _You _are going to go see Tony and ask him out, and when you get back you two are finally going to have sex." She said, very matter-of-factly.

"Tasha!"

"What? Now go, shoo." She said, gesturing for him to leave. "Oh, and here, I got you a Christmas present." She said, flinging and small package to him. "See you later!"

Loki groaned. "He's not even back yet!"

"Then go wait in his room naked!" She yelled as he left her room. He pretended not to hear her as he slunk back into his room and pulled out his phone.

**Fancy seeing a movie tonight?**

It was too cold for their planned afternoon stroll, so Pepper and Tony headed into a café instead.

"So," She said, after they'd ordered drinks. "How are things? I haven't seen you since…"

"Since we broke up, yeah." Tony finished for her. "Things are good, how about you?"

Pepper shrugged. "Fine, I'm heading back home soon."

"Tell your mother I say hello." Tony asked with a grin. Pepper's mother adored Tony.

"Sure." Pepper replied, rolling her eyes.

"Look, I've been meaning to ask about something you said on the night that we broke up." Tony began.

"What?" Pepper questioned.

Tony took a deep breath, not knowing whether he'd like the answer. "You said that you thought I liked someone else… Who was it?"

"I thought it was obvious. Loki, of course," Pepper looked at Tony's shocked expression. "Oh god, that wasn't who, was it? You like someone completely different, and now you think Loki likes you and I've ruined your friendship and I'm so sorry, I should watch what I say-"

"Pepper." Tony cut her off. "Calm down. You did nothing wrong."

"Then why do you look so surprised?" Pepper asked confusedly.

"I'm surprised that you were right, that's all." Tony smirked.

Pepper's jaw dropped. "I was? Does he know?"

Tony smiled. "Yeah, he does."

"And?" Pepper prompted.

"And what?" Tony asked, teasing her.

"How does he feel about it?" She asked, hitting his arm.

"God, you women are violent. First Natasha, now you?" Tony cried.

"Answer the question." Pepper demanded.

"Okay, okay. I asked him out, and he said yes." Tony answered with a grin.

"When?" Pepper interrogated.

"Towards the end of September." Tony said,

"You guys have been together for almost three months and you didn't tell me?" Pepper shrieked.

Tony looked uncomfortable. "Well, we got together for the first time then, but we kinda split up the next day."

Pepper shot him daggers. "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah, I wish." He sighed. "But we got back together two weeks ago, and everything's going fine."

Pepper had calmed down by now. "You must really like him, then." She said.

Tony smiled. "Just a bit." He joked.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm glad you're happy and everything's good, but you never take me out unless there's a problem. So spill." She said. She knew Tony too well. Whenever they met up, it was either because she asked him out, or he needed something.

"You know me too well, Pep." He chuckled. "But yeah, there's one issue…"

Pepper nodded. "Come on, you can tell me. Is the sex awful?" She asked, as a joke.

Tony didn't laugh. "I wouldn't know. We've never had it."

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Tony nodded. "We haven't done anything more than kiss."

"Do you want to?" Pepper asked,

Tony sent her a 'well, duh' look. "Obviously. I mean, have you seen the guy? He's like a walking sex bomb."

Pepper snorted. "Then why haven't you made a move or something?"

"Because every time I try to, something or someone interrupts us!" Tony explained irritably.

"Then why don't you just lock the door and tell anyone that visits to piss off?" Pepper asked.

"Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Tony replied sarcastically. "I'm fine with that, it's just that he insists on addressing everyone that appears."

Pepper frowned. "Does _he_ want to have sex?"

Tony shrugged. "I think so, he initiates it, but then once someone comes along, he snaps out of it and the mood's gone. I mean, am I doing something wrong?" Tony worried.

Pepper burst out laughing. "I thought I'd never live to see the day that Tony Stark worried about his skills in bed."

Tony scowled. "Stop laughing, it's not funny."

Pepper sobered up. "Okay. Did you ever consider that that is the reason he's kinda shy?"

"That what is?" Tony asked.

"That you're Tony Stark, who's slept with more women than he can count?" Pepper reminded him.

He groaned. "They don't matter to me!"

"I know they don't, Tony. But admit it, you've left a pretty high standard for him to reach." She chided gently.

"So what do I do? Send him a card saying 'I want to fuck you and I know it'll be great'?" Tony quipped.

"No. You take him out to dinner and a movie, then you make your move." She advised him.

It was actually a pretty good idea, now that Tony thought about it. "Okay, fine. I'll ask him when-"

His sentence was cut short when his phone buzzed.

**Fancy seeing a movie tonight?**

Tony grinned. "He beat me to it." He told Pepper.

"What are you waiting for? Say yes!" She urged.

_Anything for you._

It only took a few seconds for Loki to reply.

**How sweet. Should I be expecting flowers later?**

_Roses. With a box of chocolates._

**I look forward to it. Meet me at my room at 7pm? The movie starts at eight.**

_See you then, Laufeyson._

Tony put his phone down with a grin. "I need to go get ready for my date."

Pepper rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, yeah. Tell me about it later!"

"Sure will, Pep." He said, leaving some cash on the table and walking out.

"And be safe!" Pepper shouted after him, causing him to laugh.


	18. Chapter 18

There was a sharp knock on Loki's door at exactly 7pm.

Loki smiled to himself as tied a scarf around his neck (it _was _the middle of winter) and swiped his phone off the bench before heading to the door and throwing it open.

Tony grinned at him. "Hey. You look nice." he remarked, taking Loki's hand and pulling him out of his room, closing the door behind him.

"I could say the same about you." Loki said with a smile, gently squeezing Tony's hand.

"Thanks. Oh, and by the way, nice scarf. Did you buy that this morning with Nat?" Tony asked, leading Loki to his car.

The scarf was black, with a faint white design of a snake on it, the colour contrasting perfectly with Loki's pale skin.

Loki nodded. "Yeah, when we went shopping this morning. She saw it and decided that I had to buy it." he rolled his eyes.

"Good decision on her part, it brings out your eyes." Tony complimented.

Loki blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thanks. So what are your plans for the holidays?"

Tony shrugged as he sat down in the car. "I don't know, I guess I'll just be going home." he paused for a second before adding bitterly; "If I can even call it that."

"Tell me about it. Well, at least you don't have the added misfortune of an older brother who is the golden child of the family." Loki said resentfully.

"I don't see why they prefer Thor to you. Personally, I find you the more attractive and smarter of the two." Tony smirked, subtly trying to change the subject.

Loki's eyebrows rose, and he had to restrain his smile. "Why, Stark, if I didn't know better I would think that you're flirting with me."

Tony chuckled. "Maybe I am, Shakespeare."

"Back to nicknames now, are we? Now I know you're _definitely _flirting with me." Loki smirked.

"I don't see you objecting." Tony smirked back as he drove his car out of the college front gate.

Loki rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. "So, this is our first official date as a couple, I suppose."

"Sort of." Tony shrugged. "There was that one time we got coffee together in the morning, though, wasn't there?"

"Yeah, but that was only five minutes long." Loki replied flippantly.

"So you're hoping this will last more than five minutes, then?" Tony teased.

Loki hit his arm playfully. "It will be less, if you keep acting like this."

Tony pouted, pulling puppy-dog eyes on Loki. "No, don't leave!"

Rolling his eyes, Loki replied with; "Stop with the puppy-dog eyes, they don't work on me."

"Same here, but eh, it was worth a shot." Tony sighed.

Loki quirked an eyebrow. "I remember differently."

Now Tony was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"Remember before we were dating and I dragged you to the gym?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, and I had to sit there for an hour bored out of my mind."

Loki smiled. "Remember after? Natasha invited us to breakfast, but I wanted to shower first, and you started arguing with me because you just wanted food. Now if I remember correctly, I pulled the puppy-dog eyes on you and you instantly let me get my way." He finished, with a smug smile.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I'd like to see you resist your eyes."

"You like my eyes? That's the second time you've mentioned them tonight." Loki questioned.

"Of course I like your eyes. They're-" Tony paused, stopping himself just in time. He was about to say something along the lines of stunning, glittering or transfixing, but he didn't want to look like a sentimental fool, so he stuck to saying something less articulate. "Green. Nice and green." He stated.

"How eloquent, Stark."

"Well, you are the silver-tongue. Wouldn't want to steal your gift." Tony grinned.

"Keep in mind silver tongue doesn't just refer to my ability with words." Loki said innocently, as Tony's eyes went wide.

"…What?"

"You heard me."

"You know what? I'd rather you showed me." Tony smirked, recovering from Loki's forwardness.

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Loki replied, as they pulled into the car park.

"I'll hold you to it." Tony said, pulling the break and pushing his door open.

Loki grinned to himself as he copied Tony, and exited the car. They'd managed to get a park right outside of the car, so their time in the bleak weather was minimal.

The theatre wasn't very busy, probably due to the fact that it was a Sunday and most people would be having an early night. Luckily for the pair, their holidays officially started on Monday, although they could leave any time from the previous Friday until Wednesday. Both of them would be leaving on Wednesday, trying to delay their separation and Loki's inevitable return to his family, for as long as possible.

They strolled up to the bored looking woman at the counter, who immediately straightened up, and thrust out her chest and smiled as they approached.

"Hey, you're Tony Stark, right?" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's me." Tony replied in a fake-enthusiastic tone.

"I can't believe I'm meeting you!" She shrieked, making Loki wince.

"Nice to meet you too…" He checked her nametag. "Michelle."

"So what can I do for the famous Mr. Stark?" She said, pushing her chest out further.

Tony purposely let his eyes wander down to her chest. "Uh, two tickets to Slumdog Millionaire, please."

She grinned triumphantly, knowing she had caught his attention. "Sure, anything else?"

"A diet coke and medium popcorn for me, please." He pretended to just remember Loki was there. "Oh yeah, what do you want, Loki?"

The man in question was scowling, his eyes were sharp, but there was an indignant crease between his eyebrows that bordered on adorable, which was the exact reaction Tony was aiming for. "I'll have a boysenberry ice-cream." Loki replied in an icy tone. "Please." He added reluctantly.

Michelle nodded and got their food and tickets, her eyes never leaving Tony, and Tony's eyes never leaving her cleavage, much to Loki's obvious annoyance. What was the point of going on a date, if said date was too busy ogling some random woman?

"There you two go." She said with a cheesy grin as Tony paid for their stuff. Loki didn't miss the stray piece of paper with her number on it slipped in with the tickets.

"Enjoy the movie!" She called out as they left.

"Thanks!" Tony said in response before heading down to the theatre. He tried to slip his arm around Loki's waist, only to have Loki glare at him and push it away. "Oh come on, you're not really mad at me for what happened back there?"

"Oh, excuse me for being annoyed that my date-slash-partner-slash-whatever the hell we fucking are was blatantly flirting with some random girl." Loki snarled.

Tony couldn't help the smile that escaped from his lips.

"What are you smiling at?" Loki narrowed his eyes.

"You." Tony replied. "You're hot when you're jealous."

Loki raised his eyebrows. "That won't work on me."

Tony continued grinning. "You didn't really think that I liked her, did you?"

Loki continued to look confused. "What?"

"I only acted like that to get you jealous. It's kinda cute." Tony admitted.

"Are you telling me you have some sort of jealousy fetish?" Loki asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Tony shrugged.

Loki rolled his eyes, but he was starting to smile. "You are so weird sometimes, you know that?"

"It's been mentioned." Tony said as they turned the corner.

Loki looked around, making sure no one was watching as he pinned Tony against the wall, looking into his surprised eyes with a grin before pressing his lips to Tony's in a way that was almost aggressive. Tony, as surprised as he was, still managed to kiss back enthusiastically as Loki's grip on him tightened, only to have Loki break away moments later, his cheeks slightly pinker.

"That possessive enough for you?" Loki smirked, already knowing the answer from Tony's wide eyes and quick pulse.

"Can we just skip the movie?" He replied, when he found his voice.

Loki laughed, but dragged him into the theatre anyway, glad that they were back on track again.

The movie started innocently enough, with both boys unwilling to make a move. Loki didn't know how to act on a date with Tony Stark, and Tony didn't know how to act on dates in general. However, Tony decided that what the hell,he may as well do the cheesiest thing he could and did the whole pretend-to-yawn-and-put-your-arm-around-your-date thing.

Loki's reaction was instantaneous. He turned to look at Tony with an eyebrow raised and said; "Are you really doing what I think you're doing?"

Tony grinned at him. "Depends on what you think I'm doing."

"Being a cliché moron."

"Then yes, I am doing exactly what you think I'm doing." Tony concluded.

Loki rolled his eyes, but moved the armrest up and snuggled up to Tony anyway, with his head resting on Tony's collarbone, and Tony's head buried in his hair. Being the weird person he was, Tony inhaled deeply, tickling Loki's scalp and making him giggle.

"Your hair smells nice." Tony said, his voice muffled by Loki's hair.

Loki snorted. "Good to know."

The following twenty minutes included Tony opening his popcorn - and occasionally feeding it to Loki - watching the movie silently, and Tony tracing patterns on Loki's arm. Everything was completely and utterly innocent.

And then Loki started eating his ice-cream.

It was unintentional to begin with, he hadn't realized what he was doing. The gentle licks of the ice-cream, and the swirling of his tongue around the top was just how he normally ate ice-cream, he thought nothing of it.

Until he saw Tony watching him out of the corner of his eye with dilated pupils and realized how he must look.

Then it became a game for Loki, to find the sexiest and most seductive way to eat an ice-cream. He would fit his whole mouth around the top of it, and place little licks and nips along the sides, letting out the occasional moan.

At this point, Tony was very glad he wasn't wearing tight pants. The things Loki did to him were unfair, and just plain cruel. And quite frankly, if Loki wasn't in his bed tonight, there was going to be a problem.

Almost immediately after he'd finished eating his ice-cream, Loki turned so that he was still leaning on Tony, but his legs were lying on Tony's lap, the foot closest to the edge running up and down Tony's legs.

That was all Tony needed to pull Loki's body over, so that he was now straddling him, and hungrily press their lips together, pausing briefly to untie Loki's scarf.

Loki smiled inwardly, feeling Tony's erection underneath him, and it only served to make him harder, as Tony begin sucking and biting on his neck.

There weren't many people in the theatre, and none in their row, but Loki still had to bite back a moan, burying his face into Tony's shoulder to muffle the noise. His date's hands wandered over him, rubbing his waist gently. But when his hands slipped under Loki's jeans, Loki pulled away, and slapped Tony's hand off him.

"I am not doing this with you in a _cinema, _Stark." Loki hissed.

Tony's look of confusion turned back into his trademark grin. "Then why are we still here?" he questioned in a teasing tone.

Loki grinned back and tied his scarf back around his neck, before standing up quietly. "I like the way you think."

Tony grabbed his hand as they all but raced out of the cinema, hoping their erections weren't _too_ obvious. They'd almost reached the stairs leading outside when Loki remembered the woman at the counter and slowed his pace, subtly untying the scarf and giving her the perfect view of the new red mark on his neck

Tony had been too pre-occupied with driving to continue their activities, thought their conversation still flowed like usual. However, neither of them were able to keep their minds from wondering about how their night was going to go.

When they arrived back on campus, the hallways were deserted and silent, almost half the campus had already left on holiday, including Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Jane and Thor. Once they'd started getting closer to their rooms, Loki started to get a bit worried, as well as excited. He'd waited a long time for this, but he was concerned that he wouldn't be good enough. It wasn't that he'd ever gotten any complaints in bed, far from it, but there was still a bit of pressure on him.

Tony turned to Loki once they were outside him and Bruce's room. "So… You wanna come in?" He asked, his lips slightly curved.

Loki rolled his eyes. Tony took that as a yes and opened the door, placing a hand on the small of Loki's back and pushed him inside.

As soon as Tony had closed the door, he pushed Loki up against the wall and kissed him, with enough passion to rival Loki's kiss at the cinema, parting his lips with his tongue and gently nudging it inside Loki's mouth, rubbing their tongues against each other.

Loki pulled away. "You have a thing for pushing me up against walls, don't you?"

Tony remembered their current position, and times before, and let out a breathless laugh. "Yeah, apparently."

"I'll add that to the mental list of things I should do to turn you on." Loki said, sliding his hand under Tony's shirt. "But perhaps we should head into the bedroom?." He suggested, with a cock of his head.

Tony kissed him once more, before leading him into the bedroom, which he had thankfully remembered to tidy that morning. He was expecting that they'd both just collapse on the bed, and carry on from where they left off, but Loki had different plans. Within seconds, Tony found himself lying flat on the bed and looking up at Loki, a devious smirk lighting up his features as he pulled off his shirt in a way that could only be described as sexy, and climbed onto the bed so that he was straddling Tony.

Loki wasn't usually considered the "dominant" one in the relationship - usually it was Tony that initiated anything physical - but Tony wasn't objecting because Loki was doing things to his neck – okay, really good things to his neck – and he wasn't about to stop him, although he did feel slightly powerless. He was pinned down, with Loki's thighs gripping his waist tightly enough that he felt secure, but not so tight that he was uncomfortable. And with Loki nipping and sucking gently on his neck, he really didn't feel like moving. Plus he had all of Loki's torso to explore, a task he was more than content with.

It was weird though, Tony thought, that in comparison to Steve and Thor, anyone would've easily assumed that Loki was the physically weaker and scrawnier of the trio. However, as he could clearly see, that wasn't the case. Although Loki's muscles weren't that prominent when he was fully-clothed, once he was shirtless it was a lot easier to see the similarity with Thor's and Steve's build. He was lean and sinewy, instead of bulky, and surprisingly strong from the way he was holding Tony down. His upper body strength was impressive too, if the firm and taut muscles in his arms and his well-toned chest were anything to go by.

Tony was pulled out of his sub-conscious analysis of Loki's body when a couple of nimble fingers started to unbutton his shirt, and a pair of lips met his own. Before he knew it, Tony's shirt had been pulled off him and thrown into a corner of the room, and Loki's body was pulled flush against his.

"Did anyone ever tell you," Tony managed to breathe out. "That you're really good at this?"

Loki smirked as he trailed his hands down Tony's body. "It may have been mentioned." he murmured into Tony's ear, pausing briefly to nibble at his earlobe. "And remember," he added, "We're only just getting started."

Tony wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

Whilst Loki and his mouth slowly made their way down his body, Tony was left with the perfect view of Loki's back, including his perfectly curved (but unfortunately still clothed) ass. He'd been with plenty of girls before, and the odd guy, but none of them had the same elegance and beauty as Loki. They didn't have that gorgeous dip in the small of their back, or the flawless and smooth skin, nor did they have muscles in their backs that literally rippled when they moved. And they sure as hell did not have a pair of soft lips that were currently at Tony's navel.

Said lips separated from Tony's skin momentarily, but only to bite down on the zip on his jeans and pull it down slowly. After this, it only took seconds for Loki to pull off Tony's jeans, closely followed by his own, and discard them into the corner, leaving them both in only their underwear.

Cool fingers trailed down Tony's chest to his waist, before hooking themselves into the waistband and dragging them off him. Loki's cool breath ghosted over hot and hard skin, causing Tony to shiver, and close his eyes, due to both anticipation and the temperature of the cold hands firmly gripping his hips.

Without hesitation, or warning, Loki licked a stripe up the underside of Tony's cock, and thank god Loki was as strong as he was, or else the buck of Tony's hips would've choked him.

Loki glanced up at him, a grin lighting up his eyes before gently sucking the tip, tasting the bead of pre-come, and moving his hand to fondle his balls. The moan that Tony let out was heaven to Loki's ears, and spurred him on. He needed to set a high standard for blowjobs in the future, and from what he could tell, he was doing a pretty good job. He changed from sucking to swirling his tongue around Tony's cock, teasing him before actually let Tony fuck his mouth.

Tony would praise him, because it was by far the best blowjob he'd ever received, but he was too immersed in pleasure to formulate a word, let alone a sentence, and it didn't help when Loki took him in his mouth fully, right down to the base and hollowed his cheeks. His hands were running up and down Tony's inner thighs, and without them holding his hips, Tony was able to thrust into Loki's mouth, one of his hands clenching the bed sheets, the other tightly wrapped in Loki's soft hair.

He knew he wasn't going to last long, he'd been hard ever since they'd sat down in the cinema, and as he watched Loki's head bob up and down, he knew his release was coming and wasn't sure whether Loki was the swallowing type or not.

"Loki-fuck, I'm going to-" Tony managed to choke out.

Loki's eyes flitted up to Tony's for millisecond, giving him an understanding look before continuing. It wasn't long before Tony approached his orgasm, repeating Loki's name as he came, before slumping into the bed, completely and utterly spent.

Loki swallowed diligently, and when he knew Tony was looking at him, licked his lips, causing Tony's cock to twitch, and sat up, stretching slightly and arching his back with his head facing upwards, knowing how good he looked doing this and how obvious it made his erection.

He didn't have to wait long until he was pulled on top of Tony, and then rolled over so that he was pressed against the headboard. Tony's face was millimetres from his, with a devilish smirk lighting up his features as he pointedly looked down at the erection Loki was sporting.

"Let me help you with that," Tony purred, reaching down to pull off Loki's underwear, the latter's breathing hitching as his cock finally sprung free.

Tony stared admirably, only to be interrupted by an exasperated Loki. "I understand your appreciation of my body - believe me, I can tell from your dick – but would you mind hurrying up?"

Tony chuckled at this, his theory had been right.

"What?" Loki asked irritably.

"Your voice. Your accent does get thicker during sex."

Loki was about to object, or say some sort of cutting retort, but whatever he was going to say was prevented by Tony's mouth suddenly sucking on a particularly sensitive part of his neck, resulting in a needy moan.

"Like that, huh?" Tony grinned. He'd made Loki moan before, but nothing quite like the sound he'd just made. He would have to remember that spot.

Loki let out a whimper in response.

He could only watch and feel as Tony licked, sucked and bit a trail down his chest, stopping for a moment to lick and suck a pale nipple, the moan from above only encouraging Tony as his tongue traced along the left side of the V between his hip and kissing his abs before pulling away. Loki went to make a noise of protest, and tried to touch his own cock, only to have Tony swat his hand away with a growl, and press a finger to Loki's lips, effectively silencing him, although still earning a glare.

His glare was changed into a look of interest when he saw what Tony was planning to do. The latter had just begun to lick his hand in an attempt to lubricate it, so that his following movements would be smooth.

"You ready?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

Loki rolled his eyes, but nodded all the same.

And with that, Tony wrapped his hand around Loki's cock and began to pump it. Almost instantly, Loki's hips flexed forward into his touch and he closed his eyes, panting. He knew he was going to come sooner that he usually would (probably because sucking your boyfriend off does things to you) and could only moan in anticipation of his orgasm.

To Tony, Loki was generally considered hot. Hot when he was fully clothed, hot when he was shirtless, but when he was naked and aroused? It was as if a god had been allowed to walk on Earth, and that god was Loki. His pale skin was shining in sweat, and his pink lips were swollen and parted eagerly, as well as his raven hair being all tussled. Not to mention his impressive cock. But the feature that caught Tony's attention the most (it also caught his heart but he'd never admit it) was his eyes. Despite having a way with words, and a being a very convincing liar, if you looked carefully enough, you could see Loki's true emotions in his eyes, though he tried his best to hide it.

And currently these eyes had fluttered open, and were giving Tony the hottest bedroom eyes he'd ever seen. Loki's intense green eyes were dark with dilated pupils, and the look he was giving was a mixture of lust and pleasure. And Tony stared back. Everything he'd gone through for this boy and every moment where he doubted that they'd stay together, had been worth it for that one look. To have been the person that gave Loki that much pleasure was the best feeling in the world, and he wouldn't swap it for anything.

He leaned and kissed Loki lightly on the lips for a second, slowing the pace of his hand, knowing how annoyed it would make Loki.

The look in Loki's eye's changed instantly to one of desperation. "Faster!" He said hoarsely.

"What's the magic word?" Tony teased, bringing his hand to what was probably an unbearably slow pace.

"I hate you." Loki muttered "… Please?" He added meekly.

"I wouldn't say that to the person who's currently giving you a hand job." Tony joked, speeding up his strokes.

"Mmm… Please, Tony, fuuuuck, don't stop." Loki managed to get out on the brink of release.

Tony looked surprised at the use of his name by Loki for the first ever time, but continued all the same.

"Fuck, I'm gonna- Fuck, Tony!" Loki cried out wantonly as he came over Tony's hand.

Tony finally stopped, pulling his hand away and licking Loki's come off his fingers, as Loki watched him with hooded eyes from the top of the bed. Tony moved up next to him, kissing him slowly and tenderly.

"You called me Tony. Twice." He murmured.

Loki smiled. "I know."

"So is that going to be a common occurrence now or what?"

"What, your name or the blowjob?" asked Loki.

"Both, I guess."

"Depends on how good the blowjob was." Loki smirked.

"It was amazing. Now I definitely know why you're called silvertongue. How was I?" Tony responded, kicking the covers off and sliding beneath them.

Loki pretended to think hard. "It was up there, I suppose."

Tony turned his back on him.

"I'm kidding, Tony." Loki rolled his eyes.

Tony turned back to face him. "I like it when you call me by my name."

"I thought you would."

They were both quiet for a minute.

"So… Do you want to stay here for the night?" Tony asked awkwardly.

Loki pressed his nose to Tony's. "Yes, you idiot. Though I can't believe Tony Stark is asking me to spend the entire night with him."

"Shut up." Tony rolled his eyes and pulled the sheets over them. "But to be fair, you _are _the sexiest person to ever have been in my bed before."

"Be quiet and go to sleep, Tony." Loki sighed.

"Ooh, can you say my name again?" Tony asked, pulling a pillow under his head.

"Shut up, or else this will be my first and only time sleeping in your bed, Tony." Loki said sweetly.

"Fine then, gosh. Night, Shakespeare." Tony slid an arm over Loki's waist and pulled him in close.

"Good night, Tony."


	19. Chapter 19

Tony was woken up by the light streaming in through his window and rolled over, expecting to find Loki's warm body curled up next to him. But all he found was cold, rustled sheets, and was confused until he heard the sound of his coffee machine whirling in the kitchen.

Tying a sheet around his waist for someform of modesty, he walked out, where Loki was sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar, his back to Tony, sipping his soy coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning, gorgeous." Tony greeted, sliding his arms around Loki's waist and kissing his neck.

"Hey, you." Loki replied, spinning around on his stool so that he was facing Tony.

"Couldn't sleep?" He guessed, kissing Loki's forehead before going and making himself a coffee.

Loki sighed. "When am I ever able to sleep?"

"Well, you were out pretty quickly last night." Tony remarked, pouring the milk.

Loki smirked. "Well, certain, _strenuous _activities can have that affect on me."

"Really?" Tony grinned. "I guess that gives us the excuse to do them more often."

Loki snorted, but didn't object.

Tony left the kitchen, but instead of joining Loki at the breakfast bar he headed towards the couch. "Come sit with me on the couch, it's way more comfortable."

Agreeing, Loki stood up and stretched, and only then did Tony realize what he was wearing.

"Is that my Black Sabbath singlet? And my boxers?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

Loki nodded as he sat down. "Yeah, my clothes from last night weren't exactly comfortable. You don't mind, do you?"

"What? No, it's fine. You suit them." Tony complimented.

Loki took another sip of his coffee to hide his blush.

"So your flight's tomorrow, right?" Tony asked.

"At 2:30pm." Loki confirmed, nodding his head.

"So we have a day, then. What do you want to do?"

Loki sighed. "Not go home, for one."

"Aside from the obvious."

"Hm, what's the weather like? There's no point in going out if it's cold." Loki asked.

Tony reached over to the table beside them to grab his phone and glance at the weather. "Yeah, it's gonna be cold, so do you wanna just stay in? Unless you need to go out for anything?"

Loki shook his head. "No, staying in is fine. I don't have anywhere else to be."

"Cool. So, wanna watch a movie?" Tony suggested. If they were going to stay in, they may as well do an activity that involves them being as close as possible.

"Sure, but I'd like a shower first. Is it okay if I use yours?"

"Mm hm. And feel free to wear more of my clothes, I like seeing you wear them."

"Okay, thanks." Loki said standing up and heading towards the bathroom. But when he reached the door, however, an idea hit him and he stopped and turned back around to face Tony. "Oh, and feel free to join me." He said, winking and walking into the bedroom.

Tony blinked at Loki's suggestion, before grinning to himself, and waiting until he heard the shower start running and taking off to join Loki.

After a very long and, er, _steamy_ shower, both boys emerged; Loki with pink cheeks and wearing a black jumper with grey track pants (both Tony's) and Tony looking very pleased with himself in jeans and an AC/DC shirt.

"Don't fall asleep on me again." Tony joked, as they sat back down on the couch, Loki closing his eyes and resting his head in Tony's lap, his long legs hanging off the end of the couch

He opened an eye. "I'm just resting my eyes." Loki mumbled, closing his eye again.

Tony chuckled. "I'm sure you are, babe."

"So I'm your "babe", now?" Loki asked, amusedly.

"You can be anything, as long as you're mine." Tony grinned.

"How sentimental." Loki remarked, and Tony knew he would be rolling his eyes if they were open.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're only with me because of my body." Tony quipped.

"It is a lovely body." Loki replied, half-agreeing.

"Can I get that in writing?"

"As if your ego needs any more inflation."

"Hey now, a little self-confidence is good for the soul." Tony responded defensively.

Loki snorted. "Little being the operative word."

"I don't like sleepy-Loki. He used to be cute but now he's just rude." Tony complained, absently running his fingers through Loki's raven locks.

Loki let out a hum and wriggled slightly at the touch, then slid his hand under Tony's leg as if to use it for a pillow. "Keep doing that and I'll be nice." He promised in a murmur.

A smile started to form on Tony's face as he continued. "You're adorable."

Loki scoffed. "I am many things, Anthony, but adorable is not one of them."

"You are. You're like a cat. Loki the cat." He said, before a genius name sprung into his head. "Lokitty!" He gasped in excitement, pleased with his own joke.

"Please, no." Loki groaned, clearly irritated. "Don't call me that."

"But it's cute!" Tony objected.

"Which is exactly why I dislike it, Stark."

"Oh, so now I'm back to Stark, am I? That's not what you were calling me in the shower." Tony teased, taking pleasure in both embarrassing and annoying Loki.

Loki opened his eyes again and scowled, before sitting up and pushing himself off the couch and walking over to Tony and Bruce's shared DVD collection. Both boys, being the scientists that they were, took an general liking to sci-fi films - a genre that Loki wasn't a huge fan of – and the few movies that didn't fall into that category, Loki had organized into a pile next to him.

"I didn't know you were a fan of Titanic." Loki said amusedly, holding the film up in his right hand.

Tony lay down on the couch, taking up Loki's recently vacated spot. "I think it's one of Pepper's that somehow made it's way into my collection." He said, missing the frown that appeared on Loki's face when he mentioned Pepper.

"Romeo and Juliet?" Loki questioned, holding up the film.

"Yeah! Let's watch that! You being into Shakespeare and all. Tragic love story, right up your alley."

Loki snorted and rolled his eyes. "Tragic love story? Have you even read the play?" He asked, shaking his head.

"Well, no, but I get the idea. Two star-crossed lovers that can never be together, and end up dying in order to be with each other." Tony said, watching Loki to make sure he'd given the correct answer.

"That's the glamourized version, what society has turned it into. If you read it carefully, it's actually about a thirteen year old girl, and a seventeen year old boy that fall in love with each other instantly, Romeo instantly forgetting about Rosaline, the woman he previously called his one true love, and replacing her with Juliet, a Capulet, after glimpsing her at a party. They then get married after knowing each other for less than a day, and three days later they commit suicide for each other. Tragic? Yes. A love story? Yes. Realistic? Perhaps, but not in my eyes." Loki finished breathlessly. One subject in particular he loved in high school was English Lit, and he developed strong opinions of plays and books that they covered throughout the years.

Tony looked on in admiration. "You're very passionate about Shakespeare, aren't you?"

Loki shrugged. "You like engineering, I like reading. I am positive that if I mentioned something to do with a car engine I'd have to put up with your incessant babbling for hours."

Tony laughed. "Touché. So what are we going to do now, then? Your distaste in my movie collection is fairly obvious, so unless you want to watch Doctor Who or something, I suggest we see who else is still here and do something with them."

"No!" Loki pouted, looking like an insolent five year old. "It's my last day before I go back to Chicago and face my charming family, and I want to spend it with you, and you alone." Loki declared, his eyes searching Tony's face for any sign of disagreement.

"Fine by me. So Doctor Who it is?" Tony asked, heaving himself off the couch and joining Loki on the floor by the pile of DVD's. Loki nodded in response. "Which season, then? I only have seasons from Christopher Eccleston onwards."

"Er, season four? I just love Donna." Loki decided.

"Of course you do." Tony grinned. Loki and Donna were very similar in the way the joked, sarcasm and wit often being mistaken for rudeness.

After starting the series, and arguing over which episode to start with, the two teens managed to get themselves comfortable on the couch, Loki's legs draped over Tony's lap and his top half resting against the arm of the sofa, whereas Tony just sat normally, except for the hand that remained entwined with Loki's for the duration of the afternoon.

They hadn't spoken much about Loki returning back home, it was obvious to Tony that he wanted to enjoy the time he had before he left, so he let Loki do so, but when they arrived at the airport the following day, and Loki paled and sprinted to the bathroom, he had to say something.

"You want to talk about it?" Tony asked softly.

There was no need for him to clarify what "it" was, but Loki shook his head anyway. "I'll be fine, I'm just a bit anxious, that's all."

"Look, I probably should've said this earlier, but you're welcome to stay with me, if you want." Tony offered, feeling like a complete idiot for not saying anything sooner.

Loki let out a dry laugh. "_Now _you offer. But I think my family would be more upset with me if I didn't come home, rather than if I did."

"It's the thought that counts, I suppose." Tony admitted, as they pushed Loki's trolley through the baggage check-in queue.

They stayed in silence for the rest of the checking-in process, neither of them quite knowing what to say. They would miss each other immensely, but both believed that the other would shoot them down if they voiced this aloud, they had only really been together for two weeks, after all. But actions can speak louder than words, and as Tony pulled Loki in for a good-bye hug, he didn't really need to say anything at all, as they gripped each other tightly, inhaling in the familiar and comforting scents of one another desperate to memorize every detail, quirk and even flaw before they parted.

"See you in a month." Tony said, his voice muffled by Loki's shoulder.

Loki nodded. "Skype and text me, okay?" He responded.

"I promise." Tony vowed as they finally broke apart.


	20. Chapter 20

After arriving in Chicago and collecting his bags, Loki made his way through to the arrivals area, not too sure about who would be picking him up. It could be Odin, god help him if it was, or Frigga, or it could be a taxi, if both were busy. His eyes scanned the busy crowd, attempting to find a familiar face, when he finally caught sight of a woman with golden hair tied up in a bun waving and grinning at him.

Grinning back at her, he sped up his pace until he reached her, before dropping his bags just in time for his mother to hug him.

"Loki!" She whispered tearfully, squeezing him tightly. It had been four months since she'd seen him properly, the only exception being the time that she visited him when he was recovering at Baldr's (Loki's elder brother) house, on the other side of the city.

"Hello, mother." Loki replied, gently patting her on the back.

She frowned slightly as she pulled away. "You're too skinny, my dear. Have you be eating properly?" She asked with genuine concern in her eyes.

"Mother, I am _fine. _You needn't worry." Loki rolled his eyes, picking up his bags as his mother started to walk in the direction of the exit.

"But I worry about you at that school. Do they push you too hard? Is there a lot of pressure on you to do well? Do you have many friends?"

Loki sighed. "College is fine." he reassured her. "Honestly." He added, seeing doubt in her eyes. "And I have plenty of friends."

"Hm, if you say so. Who were you rooming with this year? Anyone I know?"

Loki laughed. "The only people at college that you know are Thor, Natasha, and myself. But I was rooming with this guy called Clint, who's a good friend of Tasha's." Frigga had met Natasha the previous year, when she picked the two brothers up from school for the holidays.

"You mentioned them last time I saw you. Are they together yet?" She asked, as Loki stacked his bags into the boot and slid into the car.

"Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if they were together by the end of the holidays." He replied. "They've gone on holiday together to Florida."

"What about you? Are you seeing anyone right now?" Frigga questioned,

"Can we leave the 20 questions until later? It's been a long day, and I'd quite like something to eat." Loki replied, purposely avoiding the question.

"Well, it's almost time for dinner, so what would you like, Loki?" She said, changing the subject. It was obvious that Loki didn't want to talk about his love-life, so she would respect that.

He shrugged. "I don't mind. What does Odin want?" He replied, his tone turning bitter as he spoke Odin's name.

Frigga noticed this, but decided to ignore it, having grown used to Loki's contempt over the years and accepting that nothing she said would change his attitude. "He's not here right now. He's overseas, on a business trip. It's just you and I for the next three or four days, and then Thor and Jane will be joining us on the 21st. It's what, the ninth today?"

Loki sat up straighter in his seat. "Odin's… away?" He didn't bother to hide his smile.

Frigga tried to frown, but failed. "Yes, Loki, he is. And could you at least try not to look so happy about it?" She answered, but a smile crept onto her face anyway.

"Sorry." Loki grinned, unapologetically. "So how's work?" Frigga was a nurse, and worked full-time, only taking a month off work a year, which was the main reason why Loki wasn't able to stay with her whilst he was recovering.

"Very busy, now that we're entering the holiday season. In fact, the other day, we had someone who had…" She started, and Loki knew she could go on about her job forever. He was content to listen though, he had the rest of the week to spend with her until Odin came home, and he was going to cherish that time. He was very close to his mother as a child, she was the one who took him to the library every Friday afternoon, and enrolled him in Karate lessons, even though Odin scoffed at Loki ever having the guts to seriously injure someone. Though their relationship throughout Loki's teenage years was strained, she was always there for him, even when he didn't want her to be.

Frigga took the rest of the week off work, in order to spend some quality time with her youngest son. They mainly spent their time indoors, seeing as the temperature outside ranged from 0-6C, and occasionally went out for coffee at a nearby café. They talked about SHIELD, but only to a certain degree, Loki _was_ under a confidentiality agreement, and discussed Psychology, something Loki wasn't able to do with most of his friends.

So yeah, being home wasn't too bad.

Until Odin came home.

He arrived on Saturday at midday, and was completely unaware of Loki's presence until the evening, where Loki emerged from his room for dinner, and braced himself for a lecture about why he should've said hello instead of moping around in his room.

Instead, he got an astonished look. "What are you doing here?" Odin asked, his eyes wide.

Loki frowned. "I live here, remember?" He replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"But you go to college in New York!" Odin exclaimed, thoroughly confused about the situation.

"I am aware of that, however, it's the Christmas holidays right now, and I have been sent home to spend it with my family." Loki reminded him.

Frigga sighed in the background, placing the salad bowl in the centre of the table. "I told you he was coming, Odin. I also said to mark it in your diary, which you clearly you did not do."

"You told me Thor and that Jane girl were coming over a few days before Christmas. I don't remember you mentioning him." Odin huffed, pointing his fork in the direction of Loki.

This was not a good start to the rest of the holidays. Going home would be bad enough if Odin was expecting him, but seeing as he clearly didn't, he would undoubtedly come up with some far-fetched accusations about Loki only coming for the inheritance, or how he was purposely being a burden by forcing his presence onto them.

It was going to be a long four weeks.

At least the holidays were going well for Thor. He'd spent the first week and a half with Jane in New Mexico, meeting her guardian, Erik Selvig, for the first time. Although they got off to a shaky start, Thor was sure that he'd proved to Erik how dedicated to Jane he was.

And now it was time for Jane to meet Thor's family. Thor was more worried about Odin meeting Jane then he was about himself meeting Erik. Odin didn't care too much about personality or looks, but he looked for reputation and wealth, to see if the family that Jane came from could possibly assist him in his political career. Seeing as Jane's biological family was no longer around, and her current guardian wasn't particularly wealthy, it wasn't going to be easy to convince Odin of their love. Frigga was the opposite, she would instantly accept Jane as part of the family, as long as she made Thor happy and was polite.

Thor had called Loki up several days before him and Jane were supposed to arrive, in order to ask if he could be so kind as to talk highly of Jane in front of their parents. Loki scoffed, but agreed anyway, so long as Thor and Jane didn't mention Tony.

So now, three days after Jane and Thor had arrived, the Odinson household was preparing for Christmas day. Loki, Jane and Frigga were cooking in the kitchen, Thor was attempting to move the Christmas tree so that there would be more room in the living room to set up an inflatable mattress for their uncle, Tyr, and Odin was up in his study working on another campaign, and occasionally coming downstairs to yell at Loki for doing on thing or another.

Just as the trio in the kitchen were tidying up after making jelly, Loki's phone rang.

Without bothering to check the caller ID, Loki answered. "Hello?'

"Hey gorgeous. What are you wearing?" Tony asked huskily on the other end.

Loki laughed, and Frigga turned her attention towards him. It wasn't often that someone could make him crack a smile, let alone laugh. "I'll have to answer that later, in private. How have you been? Haven't heard from you in a while." Loki said, trying not to sound to clingy.

Tony let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, sorry about that. Without Pepper around I kinda forget to eat or sleep. Or emerge from my workshop."

Loki sighed at the other end. "You can't do that to yourself, Stark. Don't you have people working for you?"

"They prefer to leave me alone, unless it's to clean my room or cook me food."

Loki glanced around, and saw Frigga watching him out of the corner of his eye. Knowing she was eavesdropping, he excused himself from the kitchen and made his way up to his room, hoping no one would bother him. "If you come back to school exhausted and skinnier than before, I will be forced to take matters into my own hands."

"Ooh, I love it when you get all feisty, babe." Tony said cockily.

"Mm, I know you do."

"Ugh, it's so dull at home. I need you here to make things more interesting." Tony complained.

Loki smiled. "Is that so? And what would you do if I was there?"

"I'd have you entertain me." Tony said simply.

"How so?"

"You never answered my question from earlier. What are you wearing?"

Loki frowned at the subject change. "A long-sleeved grey shirt with black jeans."

Tony breathed in deeply, imagining what Loki looked like. "Well, if you were here, I'd start by pulling your shirt off, to reveal your flawless, pale torso."

"Go on…" Loki encouraged.

"I'd rest my hands on your waist, and mark your neck with my teeth, gently biting that spot I know you love."

There was a sharp intake of breath on Loki's end, causing Tony to smirk.

"My hands would roam your body, and my lips would follow suit, my tongue tracing your abs and licking your nipples, only stopping when I reached your belt loop. I'd undo your belt and unzip your jeans, until you were in just your underwear, and lying flat on the bed, panting and begging for me." Tony continued.

Loki closed his eyes and let out a quiet moan, sliding one of his hands down his pants.

"You jerking yourself off yet, babe?" Tony asked, smiling slightly.

Loki's voice was low as he replied. "Oh yes. Are you?"

"Yup." Tony replied breathlessly. "But I wish it was your hand instead of mine."

"Oh, I promise you, next time I see you, it will be. What else would you do I if we were together now?"

"I'd hook my fingers into the elastic band, and slowly pull them down, until-"Tony was cut off by a noise on the other end of the phone.

"Loki! Get yourself down here this instant! There is family arriving, and the least you could do is be here to welcome them!" Odin shouted from the bottom of the staircase.

Loki reluctantly zipped his jeans back up and apologized to Tony. "I think I have to go." There was a noise of disagreement on the other end. "I'm sorry. Believe me, I would rather stay and talk to you."

"Yeah, I get it. Don't want you to get in trouble with your family because of me."

"Thank you."

"Guess I'm off to have a warm shower then." Tony teased.

"Think of me when you're in there, okay?" Loki responded.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to think of anything else." Tony admitted.

"You better not." Loki threatened lightly. "I promised myself I wouldn't say this, but I miss you."

Tony grinned. "I know. I promised myself I wouldn't say it either, but I miss you too."

Loki laughed. "We've only been together for a month, and we've turned into sentimental idiots."

"Well, I suppose a month feels longer when you're practically living together." Tony reasoned.

"Good point. But I have a feeling that if I delay going downstairs any longer, Odin will come up here and drag me down by the ear. So until next time, Anthony."

"Good bye, Shakespeare."

**Please leave a review! They motivate me to write!**


	21. Chapter 21

Reluctantly Loki made his way downstairs, where a very angry Odin was waiting for him.

"What _have _you been doing? I called out for you ages ago! You've left your poor mother and dear Jane to do everything! I hope you realize how selfish you're being." Odin exclaimed, ignoring Frigga's reassurance that it was fine.

"I was talking to a friend." Loki replied indignantly.

Odin snorted. "You don't have friends, Loki."

Loki just ignored him, and walked on into the living room, where Thor and Jane were now cuddling together on the couch whilst watching a movie.

"Brother!" Thor greeted enthusiastically. "We have not spoken recently."

"Yes, I know." Loki replied absently. "Do you have any idea about what time the others are coming over?"

"Around six, I believe. Are you as excited as me to see the family again?"

Loki scowled at the question, and at the fact that Odin had lied to get him downstairs. It would be another 45 minutes before anybody arrived. "If you're so excited that you'd rather partake in a week-long defence course than see them again, then yes, I am. I think you're forgetting that they're not even _my_ family."

"Loki…" Thor started.

"Thor…" Loki mocked. "They never have been, and they never will be. You have fun with Jane, I'll be in the gym." He said, storming out of the room.

Jane turned her head so that she was looking up at Thor. "Is he usually like this at home? He's different at school."

Thor sighed, and wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. "Yes, I'm afraid he has been. He was like this at school, too, until he met Anthony."

"They're good for each other." Jane stated, her small body surrounded by the warmth of Thor's.

Thor made a sound of agreement, before kissing Jane's forehead and watching the movie.

After hearing Frigga call out for him once again, Loki descended the stairs as slowly as possible, dreading the moment when he would find himself seated at the table, surrounded by family members he despised (Frigga and Thor being the sole exceptions to this rule). Odin's parents Borr and Bestla were joining them for dinner, and everyone – Jane included – was expected to sit and dine with them.

Loki jumped down the last three stairs, landing without too much noise and then proceeded into the kitchen to help Frigga set out the plates.

"How much longer?" He asked in an undertone as Odin, Thor and Jane entered the dining room.

Frigga turned and frowned disapprovingly at him. "Loki, you could at least pretend like this isn't some huge trial to the death," She admonished, but without conviction. "They'll be here in ten minutes."

Loki grimaced inwardly as he fetched the salt and pepper shakers from the pantry and gathered a bunch of cutlery to lay out on the table, then made his way through the door-less arch that separated the kitchen and dining room. He laid out the utensils without incident and then retreated into the kitchen for the few remaining minutes he had until he would plaster a charming smile on his face and wait for the night to be over

The doorbell clanged suddenly, and Odin went to let in his parents with shouts of "Mother! Father! Welcome!" as he opened the door for them.

Loki dipped his head cordially when they entered the dining room, and offered them seats before taking his own which happened to be as far away from his grandparents as he could physically be.

The meal progressed quite well with Thor carving the roast chicken and Jane making polite conversation with the family until Bestla decided it was time to acknowledge Loki.

"You've gotten skinny," she announced, chewing a mouthful of chicken with particular relish. "Nothing like Thor over here in fine health. It's a wonder you get anything done like that… Speaking of which, what _are _you doing with your life?"

"Aye, last we heard you had some ridiculous notion about going to Thor's college – as if!" Borr scoffed, laughing with Bestla. Odin chuckled nervously, and Loki took great enjoyment in correcting them.

"Actually, I am also an attendee of SHIELD College. I was selected for an intellectual scholarship, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Thor had passed his entrance exam."

Borr's expression soured, and he stabbed a piece of asparagus with overt aggression. "Lucky. If it were me, I wouldn't be paying for any of your school fees you've got no plans for your future anyway. What was it you said you wanted to be?" He looked to Bestla for help, not quite being able to remember.

"A psychologist," She supplied with a smug stuffing-laden grin.

"Exactly, a pansy psychologist." Borr shook his fork at Loki, who silently clenched his fists under the table. "There's no money in psychology! You'd end up on the streets, or come crawling back to your good family for forgiveness."

Loki breathed deeply through his nose and focused on cutting up one of his potatoes, not able to look up and the apologetic expression on Frigga's face or the suitably pleased one plastered on Odin's face.

The doorbell ringing interrupted Bestla's intake of breath to find further faults in Loki, and he practically knocked over his chair in his haste to open it.

"Did you invite anyone else?" Frigga asked Odin, who shook his head.

"I'll get it," Loki called, having already left the room. Any respite from the barrage of criticism was welcome, and he took his time walking to the door.

When he opened it, his jaw was in danger of dislocating from having fallen open so fast. Loki glanced over his shoulder, out of paranoia, already knowing that there was no chance of any other relations following him to the door, and then stepped out onto the doorstep shutting the door quietly behind him.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed, eyes wide.

Tony smiled easily and placed a hand on Loki's hip. "Oh, thanks, I missed you too!" He chuckled quietly before kissing Loki. Tony leaned back and took in the expression of quiet horror that had set up camp on Loki's features. "I… I thought you'd want to see me…?" Tony trailed away, rejection swelling up in his chest.

"Of course I do, you idiot!" Loki smoothed Tony's shirt collar soothingly and kissed him to reassure him. "There is just the small problem of my family who are all stuffy bastards."

Tony grinned at this, and pulled Loki closer to him on the doorstep. "Then perhaps it's time to knock the stuffing out and tell them?" He suggested.

Loki scowled at him, and pulled out of Tony's grasp on his hips. "Absolutely not."

Tony quirked an eyebrow, "You'll have to tell them sooner or later-"

"Yes, but I'd rather it was later."

Tony huffed out a small laugh. "Well go back in and make your excuses – I'm taking you out."

Loki's face broke into his first genuine smile in several days. "Thank _god,"_ He sighed, opening the door a fraction.

"And make it snappy – it's freezing out here!" Tony whispered at Loki's back as the door swung to again.

Upon entering the dining room again, Loki was met by inquisitive looks, with everybody's eyes on him.

"Who was that, Loki?" Frigga asked, trying to get a look out the window to see who was there.

"A friend of mine." Loki answered. "And I'm about to go on a walk with them now, actually."

"This friend wouldn't happen to be a woman, would it?' Bestla cut in. "Or would that be asking for too much?" Both her and Borr burst out laughing at this

Loki didn't bother to grace them with an answer. "See you all later, then." He said stiffly, before grabbing his coat off of the back of his chair and making his way back towards the door.

"Wait a minute, young man. Who said you're going anywhere?" Odin snarled, standing up.

Loki glared. "I said."

"This a _family _occasion, Loki."

"Yes, but in case you hadn't noticed – I'm not actually related to anyone in this room." Loki pointed out as icily as possible.

Frigga buried her head in her hands and Thor sighed, whereas Bestla and Borr looked outraged.

"You dare speak to your father like that? After everything he's done for you?" Bestla exclaimed.

"Everything he's done for me?" Loki repeated, letting out a harsh laugh that sent shivers down Thor's spine. He'd heard that laugh many times, and it never had a good outcome. "What, like continually make me feel absolute shit about myself and not once bothering to compliment me? I don't know what sort of delusion you have in your head, but that's all it is – a delusion." Loki replied angrily, his voice ice cold and low.

"You-" Odin began, fuming.

"No, Odin." Loki spat. "We both know it's true, so there's no point in arguing with me."

"You really think you can just leave?" Odin seethed.

"You really think you can stop me?" Loki retorted. "I'm going out for a walk with one of my friends. Hardly illegal, don't you think?" He added.

"Loki-"

"No." Loki interrupted firmly. "We're done here."

He didn't bother listening to the other's responses as he threw open the front door and stormed out onto the street.

**Thank you for your lovely comments! Also, if anyone has any ideas about what Loki and Tony should get each other for Christmas, it would be deeply appreciated. And who do you guys think should top in this relationship?**


	22. Chapter 22

From where he was standing outside, Tony could both see silhouettes and hear raised voices, none, of which, he recognized as Loki's. He presumed that the one standing up from behind the table and shouting was Odin, and that the woman to his left was Loki's mother, Frigga. But before he could get a closer look, the shouting ceased and Loki stormed out of the house, his green eyes venomous.

"Everything go okay in there?" Tony asked cautiously, painfully aware that this question could trigger a multitude of emotional responses.

Loki managed to calm himself down enough to bite back a spiteful response. "It was okay, though I suppose it will only get worse when I get back. I'm just- I'm just so sick of Odin thinking he can just control me like this! " He exclaimed, raising his voice towards the end of the sentence. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Sorry, by the way. You came here to see me, and you end up getting pulled into my family dramas."

Tony shook his head. "No, I came here to see if you were okay, which clearly, you're not. Don't apologize for showing emotion, babe."

Loki smiled softly, before taking his hand. "There's a park along here that I used to go to as a child, and it's usually fairly empty, if you want to walk there?" He suggested, inclining his head to the left.

"Yeah, sure." Tony replied, gently squeezing his hand and beginning to walk in the opposite direction of the house, so that no one in Loki's family saw them together.

"How's your mother, then?" Tony asked, knowing that her and Loki's relationship was by far stronger than his and Odin's, the mere fact that he called her mother, but didn't call Odin father, was proof enough of this.

Loki smiled softly to himself. "She's good. Odin was away for a few days, so I was able to spend some time with her before I was forced into being a social recluse."

"What did you guys do together?"

"Nothing much, really. We had in-depth discussions about medical science, she's a nurse, by the way, did some baking, went to the library-"

"So _that's _where you get your book nerdiness from!" Tony exclaimed with a teasing grin.

Loki didn't even bother to point out the fact that him and Frigga weren't related by blood, therefore he couldn't have genetically inherited any of her traits, but instead he simply just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess. We've always been the brains-before-brawn type, unlike Thor and Odin. The only sports I did as a child were martial arts, skiing and – please don't laugh at this – gymnastics." Loki said, cringing as he said it.

"I knew about the martial arts, well, how could I not, but you did gymnastics? Why didn't you tell me?!" Tony asked, his grin widening.

Loki sighed. "Because I still do it. Some of the defence classes I take involve me having to be reasonably flexible, and light on my feet. Natasha, Maria and Peggy do it with me, along with several others, some of which are guys. Clint did gymnastics too, for a while, but I'm not sure whether he still does it or not. And Thor tried it out for a week, but we prefer not to talk about that." Loki said, his lips quirking up into a small smile at the memory.

That was it for Tony. He had to sit down on a park bench because he was laughing so hard. "Are you serious? Thor did gymnastics? _Thor?_"

Loki chuckled. "Like I said, it only lasted a week. And for a good reason, too, I don't think the sports centre has recovered yet."

"I'm sorry, but I'm gonna need a minute." Tony declared, still in a fit of laughter. "Oh god, now I have the mental image of him in a leotard, someone get me bleach." He said, wrinkling his nose and sobering up.

"I would much rather you kept your somewhat erotic thoughts about Thor to yourself from now on." Loki frowned.

"Don't worry, that part of my brain is reserved for you, and you alone." Tony winked, reverting back into his normal, flirting self.

"Ever the charmer." Loki said, rolling his eyes as they walked further into the park., only to suddenly drop Tony's hand and disappear into a bush, completely out of sight.

"Er, Loki?" Tony called out. "Where'd you go?"

There was no answer, so Tony called out several more times, only to receive the same response; silence.

"That's cool, you know. Ditching me. It wasn't as if I wanted to spend time with you anyway." He continued to call out sarcastically. "I'll just sit here, by myself, fantasizing about Thor's legs-"

Loki's head popped out of a nearby bush with a disgusted look on his face. "Creep." He said, shaking his head. "Follow me." He sank back down into the bush and vanished again.

Intrigued, Tony followed him through the seemingly infinite maze of greenery, until he reached a leafy cave in a cliff, the kind of place you would only find if you looked for it carefully. It was reasonably wide and there was enough space for two people, though they'd both have to be kneeling, sitting or lying down in order to fit. Loki was already looking pretty comfortable when Tony managed to arrive, his back pressed against the cave wall and his legs straight out in front of him. Tony crawled in and took up the same position, except he was leaning against the wall opposite to Loki.

"Sorry about running off, I was just checking to see if this place was still here." Loki apologized. "I used to come here when I was younger, to read, write, or just to get away from my family. They always came looking for me, especially Thor, but no one ever found me here." Loki explained.

"Is this the part where you say that I'm the only person you've ever showed this place to and we get all emotional like in teenage novels?" Tony joked.

Loki glared at him, clearly offended. "Well if it's _so _stupid, then you can just leave."

"Sorry, sorry." Tony was quick to apologize. "I think it's sweet. I used to have a place like this when I was younger, this empty closet that I stuffed with cushions. I would just sit in there when my parents were fighting and just draw up plans for stuff. The butler and nanny could never find me." Tony told him.

Loki's glare vanished, and he reached for Tony's hand again. "Did your parents fight often?"

"Yeah, heaps. I inherited a lot of my father's qualities, a predilection to alcohol, parties, women and sometimes men, as well as his genius. To say my mother wasn't happy about those same habits would be an understatement. She cared about him deeply, and he hardly ever reciprocated her feelings. He was a business man and an inventor who had no time for his wife back home, so he spent his overseas trips with a different woman in his bed every night instead. It got to the point where the only thing they had in common, and the only thing they ever talked about together, was me. He drove her away too early on, and she never really came back." Tony answered as he ducked his head and frowned. It was common knowledge that he didn't like talking about his family, even less than Loki did, and seeing as he hadn't spoken about them in awhile, the topic began to bring up painful memories and emotions. He missed his mother, he didn't even get to say good bye to his father, and he had to bite down on his lip to stop a lone tear from snaking down his cheek.

"I know what you're thinking." Loki said softly, after a long pause.

Tony lifted his head. "And what would that be?"

"That you're going to turn into your father. That you'll let those habits get the better of you."

"What, and you don't think they will?"

"I _know _they won't." Loki reassured him.

Tony let out a harsh laugh. "Have you met me? You _know _what I was like before I started dating you, and even then…"

"That was not your fault, Anthony." Loki reminded him in a low voice. "And don't you dare argue with me about it."

Tony let out a frustrated moan. "Why do you have to be so perfect?" He complained.

"Oh, I assure you, I'm far from it." Loki said, just as his phone beeped.

"Let me guess… Natasha or Thor?" Tony asked.

Loki let out an irritated sigh as he read the message. "The latter. Odin wants me home immediately. He says it's been long enough. Gods, I can't even spend half an hour with you without him interrupting."

"Then we'd best be going, then." Tony said, spinning himself around, and sliding himself out of the cave, much to Loki's protests.

"No! I wanted to spend more time with you!" He whined, blushing as how needy he sounded.

Tony snorted at him. "I do love it when you get all possessive like that."

Loki just rolled his eyes,

Reaching out, Tony managed to pull a reluctant Loki out of the cave and to his feet. "Look, I wanna spend time with you too. But I'm kinda scared of Odin, and I don't feel like incurring his wrath."

"Fine then, we'll go." Loki scowled, and started to lead Tony back through the greenery. "But you do understand that I won't see you again until school starts."

"Well… There was one thing that I was going to ask you." Tony started hesitantly.

"Go on."

"Would you, er, like to come stay with me for a bit? Because I was thinking, we don't get much time to ourselves at school, and you're not happy here…" He trailed off, looking at Loki's startled expression. "But if you'd rather stay here, that's cool, we've only been together for a month-"

"Yes."

"-after all. Wait, you do?"

"Of course, you idiot." Loki said, rolling his eyes and struggling to repress the surge of happiness coursing through him. "What on Earth would make you think that I'd choose Odin over you?"

"Well, for one, he's not a narcissistic smartass…" Tony began with a smirk.

"Hm. That's true…" Loki teased. "Perhaps I _should_ reconsider my visit."

Tony chuckled as they exited the park and began their way back to Loki's house. "You ready to face the family again?"

Loki scowled. "No. And now you've ruined my good mood, thanks a lot."

Tony just kept on smiling. "I'll make it up to you on the plane."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Promises, promises, Anthony." He took a deep breath as he walked up the front steps. "Would you rather stay out here or come in?" He asked, turning to face Tony.

"I would prefer to stay out here, but I have a feeling you'll need the moral support."

"Thank you." Loki said sincerely, bringing his hand up to cup Tony's chin, and pressing their noses together in a brief Eskimo kiss. "But remember, they do no know, and they will not know, that we are together. Okay?"

Tony nodded, not bothering to argue, as Loki opened the door and stepped inside.

He would've liked to have looked around properly, and have a closer look at the baby photos on the wall, but Loki had a different idea. "The sooner I get this over and done with, the sooner we can go." He murmured in Tony's ear.

The dining room was basically the same as when Loki had left, except that Frigga was absent. Borr and Bestla continued to look disappointed, and Odin outraged.

Thor and Jane stared wide-eyed at Tony. "Loki never mentioned you were visiting, Anthony." Thor remarked.

"I didn't know he was coming either." Loki replied, shooting the other couple a look that read; _say a word about our relationship and I won't hesitate to kill you._

"And who are you?" Odin prompted Tony.

"I'm Tony, a friend of Loki's." Tony answered nervously. He'd only ever met the parents of one of his girlfriends (Pepper, of course) and it was just as terrifying as meeting the parents of your boyfriend they didn't know was your boyfriend.

"And why are you in my house?" Odin asked politely, but his eyes said otherwise.

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but Loki cut him off. "He's here to take me away."

Bestla spoke next. "And does your father allow this?"

Loki snorted. "Do I look like I give a damn about what my father allows? I'm nineteen, he's no longer responsible for me."

Bestla gasped as Odin stood up to reply.. "I will not tolerate you speaking like that in my house, boy!"

"Good, because in case you didn't hear; I'm already planning on leaving. Come, Anthony, I need your help to pack." Loki finished, turning around and stalking out of the room, as Tony followed him, admiring his audacity.

Loki had managed to pack without any interruptions; he'd probably stunned everyone downstairs into silence. Tony didn't say much about what he needed, except to bring warm clothes, togs, stuff for school work like his laptop and textbooks, and other necessities like toiletries and underwear. Tony waited patiently in the hallway as Loki disappeared into his parent's room to say good bye to his mother, who turned out to be asleep because the arguing earlier on had worn her out.

Loki didn't even bother saying good bye to the rest, he just continued walking right out of the house and towards Tony's car, with Tony right behind him.

They'd been in the car for about twenty minutes, and Loki couldn't help his growing curiosity about something that had crossed his mind several times since Tony's arrival. "So… What were you doing in Chicago anyway? Was it for the company?"

Tony averted his eyes and shifted awkwardly in his seat. "I-uh… Sort of. I got here on the company's plane."

Loki pursed his lips a little and a crease formed between his brows. "Oh yeah? What were you here for then, if not business?"

"Truth be told…" Tony bit his lip, unsure. "I only came to see you. You sounded miserable with your family, and I know how much you dislike spending time with them, so I thought I'd come and cheer you up."

A beat of silence followed this. "You came just for _me_?"Loki asked incredulously, the though barely occurring to him. He'd always assumed that Tony was just visiting him out of convenience, like on his way back from one of the Stark Industries weapons factories or something.

"Well, yeah. I missed you." Tony admitted quietly.

"Pull over, Anthony." Loki demanded softly.

"It was too much, wasn't it? I knew it, I should've just stayed away-"

"Anthony, please, just pull over." Loki repeated firmly.

Tony eased the car to a stop and lowered his gaze, refusing to meet Loki's eyes.

"Hey." Loki murmured, lifting Tony's chin up, so that they were now looking directly into each other's eyes. "I missed you too. And don't look so upset – I just didn't want you to crash when I did this." Loki said, pulling Tony closer and pressing his lips firmly to his boyfriend's. Tony relaxed immediately, and put a hand on the back of Loki's head. "Nobody has ever done so much for me before." Loki stated, pulling away. "It's not too much. It's just what I need."

Tony blinked a few times, still slightly shocked that Loki hadn't left the car because of the sentiment. "So… You don't want me to go?"

Loki sighed. "You know, for someone as smart as you, you're really quite thick sometimes. Need I demonstrate again?" Loki kissed Tony again, running his tongue over Tony's bottom lip before leaning back again.

Tony was grinning. "Still not quite clear on that… I might need a more detailed explanation."

"You're greedy," Loki admonished, but kissed him lightly anyway. "Now where exactly are we going?"

Tony smirked. "It's a surprise. You're not allowed to know until we get there."

"But how will the pilot know where to go if you weren't expecting me?" Loki questioned.

Tony kept quiet about the fact that he'd been hoping that Loki would say yes, and had told the pilot where to go due to wishful thinking. "He works for me, he'll know what to do." He lied. "We're almost here." Tony pointed out, gesturing to a rather conspicuous Stark Industries jet in private airfield up ahead.

Loki's eyebrows rose. "Wow. I can't believe you have your own plane!"

"Yeah… You get used to it after a while." Tony chuckled nervously, pulling over into the car park and throwing his door open.

Loki joined him by the plane, suitcase in hand, as the pilot walked down the stairs to greet them. "Mr. Stark, Mr. Laufeyson," He greeted, Loki looking shocked at the use of his name. "I have been advised not to mention where we are going," Loki pouted slightly. "And there are staff on board if necessary, but we will give you two time alone. The flight will take about two hours, though we can arrive sooner or later based on your preferences."

Tony smirked knowingly to himself. "This jet has the private bedroom, doesn't it?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

Tony turned to Loki as he gave his answer. "Then I think we can take the longer route."

The pilot smiled. "Of course, Mr. Stark. The jet awaits you."

Tony took Loki's suitcase in one hand, and Loki's elbow in the other, and half-pulled, half-dragged, Loki up the stairs, through the cabin and into the bedroom, slamming the door shut, not letting Loki have so much as a glimpse at the cabin.

"What-" Loki began, only to be silenced by Tony's lips crashing onto his, and strong hands pushing him onto the bed. Tony was lying on top of him, and their mouths separated briefly as he moved himself into a straddling position, but their lips were joined back together almost instantly afterwards. Tony's tongue nudged its way past Loki's lips and into his mouth, and Loki let out a low moan in response, tugging on Tony's hair in order to be a close to him as possible.

They parted again to catch their breath. Tony grinned at him. "I've been waiting all day to do that."

Loki smiled back at him. "I could tell. Now take your clothes off, I want you naked."

Heat pooled in Tony's lower stomach at the last part. He straightened up and pulled his shirt over his head, shivering slightly as one of Loki's cool hands planted themselves on his waist, soothing the heated flesh.

"There's no hurry. We've got three hours." Tony reminded him.

"Mm, but I want you now." Loki murmured. "And you better make good on that promise you made to me on the phone."

Tony dipped his head, and started to make a trail with his lips up Loki's jaw, pausing when he reached his ear to murmur; "Oh, I plan to..."

**Thank you all for your wonderful comments! Please keep leaving them, they inspire me to write! **

**Where do you think they're going on holiday? If anyone gets it right I'll write a oneshot for them!**

**Shakespeare42: Wow... I can't express in words how much that comment meant to me! And you read this all in one night? Thank you! Your musing about the top/bottom issue was incredibly insightful, and has been the best advice that I have ever received, and I intend to take those words to heart when writing that scene.**


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